Dizzy Darlings
by TeddyBearSunshineJoy54
Summary: SHIELD recruits two seven-year-old telepathic twins, and get much more than they anticipated. Expect tons of silliness and our favorite Avengers babysitting all while trying to keep the world safe from Loki. Set during the movie. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! This is my first ever fanfic, so I'm really scared D: I reply to all reviews, so let me know if it's okay so far ^^ **

**Have a good day :)**

* * *

Nick Fury sighed loudly in irritation, not believing the sheer ridiculousness of what he was reading. For one of the very few times in his life, he felt utterly speechless. Agent Maria Hill, sitting next to the Director of SHIELD, chuckled quietly to herself, glancing over at the letter in Fury's hands.

_To whom it may concern,_

These are the set of rules I have compiled for my two babies that I expect those caring for them to follow:

1. Never give them anything sugary or fattening. I have sent some fat free chips and such other snacks with them.

2. Their bedtime can be between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., depending on their mood.

3. Liam is petrified of the dark. Night lights are vital.

4. Eden is petrified of balloons and creepy white vans. Keep her away from both.

5. Never separate them, for anything. Ever.

6. Don't be afraid of Eden's snake. He is a Carpet Python, named Monty. He somewhat responds to his name. Do not worry about feeding him or holding him, the twins are more than capable.

7. Don't be weirded out if Liam steals any erasers you have. He hoards them. Ask for them back and he will comply.

8. If Eden gets really quiet and sits on the floor for minutes at a time, leave her alone. She is meditating.

9-

Fury was interrupted by an outburst of giggles from Agent Hill. "These are children," she laughs. "I cannot believe any of this."

Again, the Director sighed, shaking his head and crumpling up the letter from Ms. Nellie Malone, the newest addition of SHIELD's members, mother. Still, the proper words escaped him. "Give them to Stark," he said. "He'll know what to do with them, keep them out of the way until we need them."

* * *

"I feel famous."

"We are famous. I always knowed we would be. Momma said."

The first child had stringy, waist-long blonde hair, clear blue eyes and a nose that had been described by old ladies as, 'An adorable button nose.' She could charm the candy off them without even trying, not that she ate candy. Quiet and thoughtful, she believed in nonviolence and flower power. She was a peaceful flower child, as pure as they come, with a love of nature and sugar-free, fat-free granola bars.

The second child, older by twelve minutes and eighteen seconds, was certainly a sight to behold, with curly brown hair that could pass as a girl's. And he was thought of as one more often than not, not that he minded. He was happy, expressive, and it was not a secret he loved nothing more than applying his mother's makeup; foundation, lipstick and all.

"I know," replied the girl, Eden, chewing her nails, a bad habit of hers. She didn't bother to tell her brother Liam she never believed anything their mother said, and neither should he.

"Lady Gaga rides in limos, you know." Liam's love and absolute devotion to Gaga was unbreakable. Believe her; Eden had tried many times, mostly with classic Beatles songs. Who doesn't love The Beatles? Her brother, apparently.

"She does. But so did The Beatles," pointed out Eden.

The older twin shrugged, the left sleeve of his blue blouse falling down his shoulder, exposing very pale skin. He tucked himself into a ball and starting quietly humming to himself, fiddling with the sequins on his outfit. "This driver won't be getting a very big tip," he said. "The seats are lumpy."

Eden laughed.

Liam told her it wasn't funny, and nearly began to ask his sister to play a game of Rock Paper Scissors or Slaps, but he quickly fell asleep, the warmth of summer and the hum of the road knocking him right out.

Eden smiled and laid her head down on her twin's stomach, silently thanking her lucky stars she wasn't alone and didn't have to go through this stupid life without help. He had been there for her the moment they were conceived, or whatever. The S-E-X word was gross at her fragile age of seven, anyway. Liam, however, knew much more than her.

_Know how babies are made_? he asked her one day while the teacher was giving a math lesson.

Eden twitched at the invasion of her mind, the voice in her head that she was so familiar with, but could never not be startled by. _How_? she replied, keeping her eyes on the board and giving no hints her and her twin were having a conversation.

_The boy and the girl kiss, and the end of the boy's tongue falls off and the girl swallows it and it turns into a seed, which turns into a baby_, he explained.

"Hmm," Eden mumbled out loud, tapping her pencil against the desk. She knew better than to spend all class talking with Liam, because she wasn't particularity good at math, needing all the help she could get. Liam, on the other hand, was fairly smart at school and did just fine without much assistance. _But_, Eden said, an idea suddenly popping into her mind, _there's two of us. Did Momma swallow two pieces of tongues_?

When Liam gave no immediate reply, Eden couldn't help but throw a glance over to her brother across the room. He was twirling a ringlet around his finger, and at that moment the girl felt a hint of jealousy that his hair was so perfect and bouncy, while hers was straight and straw-like. He said, _Or it broked into two babies_.

They had never known their father, but they had never needed to. Their mother was enough, and how could you miss something you never had?

_Who came first? You or me_?

_Me, remember_? The fact he was older by not even half an hour made Liam very proud.

_Haha. I do. But maybe I was breaked off of you first_.

_Maybe_, said Liam, nodding his head in agreement, and then stopping when the teacher gave him and his twin an odd look.

Eden snuggled in, falling asleep with that good memory in her head. She would never admit it (or perhaps she would), but Liam was smarter than anyone she had ever known, like he had lived for a thousand years and knew all the secrets of the universe. Of course he didn't, and neither did she and neither did anyone, but it didn't stop her from loving him any less.

No matter what may come, whether they end up helping what their mother called, "The Superhero Freak show," or not, at least she will have her best friend right beside her.


	2. Chapter 2

Little Weasley Girl**, thanks again for the love ^^ **

* * *

"What do you think happened to his eye?" Eden whispered as her and Liam obediently followed Mr. Furry or whatever his name was, and the tall lady with the big butt, as both twins took note of and couldn't contain their giggling at.

"I bet a shark ate it," continued Eden. "Huh?"

"No." Liam pursed his lips, as he had just put on some bright red lipstick to leave a good impression on his new...employers, was perhaps the word. Not wanting to be rude, he spoke to Eden telepathically. _It's probably a birth defect_.

At the prospect of learning a brand new word, Eden excitedly squealed, "_What's a birth defect, Liam_?"

Mr. Furry swiftly turned around and glared at the two children. Eden sheepishly looked down at her feet, and Liam gave a toothy grin that unnerved the Director to no end, for reasons he himself didn't even understand. "Don't get lost," he grumbled, but somewhere in the back of his mind he was thinking losing them wouldn't be so bad. He was _not_a babysitter. Bubble Butt never did turn around, but by the shaking of her shoulders, the twins knew she was laughing.

Neither of the twins had been on a plane before, and they had never imagined it to look anything like this. This was the size of an entire city, like a baby Queens, where they came from. Even the outside didn't look like a plane; it looked like a giant, clear cookie jar. _Cookies_. Eden was hungry.

Down some stairs they followed Bubble Butt and Mr. Furry, and past some people wearing blue uniforms. Liam thought blue looked yucky on everyone, because blue was a natural color that only suited natural people like his sister, whereas Eden couldn't care less about what people were wearing, but rather what they were doing.

Mr. Furry stopped in front of a woman with bright red hair, about the same length as Liam's. Bubble Butt kept walking and turned a corner, and Eden told her brother, _This is like a baby city, and we're cars and these are streets_.

_Monopoly_, said Liam. _I'll be the top hat_.

_And I'll be the puppy_.

The woman smiled at them, and Liam grinned back when he seen the shade of lipstick she wore was exactly two shades lighter than his own. As he was about to mention this, she said, "Hi. I'm Natasha Romanoff." She stuck her hand out, and Eden was the first to take it. "I'm Eden Malone," she said, shaking hands furiously with her new-found friend.

"Nice to meet you, Eden. I've heard a lot about you." She took her hand back from the child's unusually strong grip.

"Like what? Do you know about Monty?"

Confused, yet entertained, Natasha angled her chin in Liam's direction and questioned, "Is that your brother?"

Liam sniffed, tilting his head upwards, and Eden was slightly embarrassed by his snobbishness. "That's her snake. I'm her brother. I'm Liam Francis Malone. I'm seven. I live in Queens, New York, America, Earth, Endless Space. I love candy canes and I love you."

Never in her entire life had Natasha thought a seven-year-old would nearly make her blush. But it was happening. Never had she heard someone say those words to her, let alone so bluntly, with the honesty only a child could possess. "Thank you," she said despite herself.

Liam pointed. Natasha couldn't help but notice his crudely manicured nails. "Your lipstick. I like it."

"Thank you, Liam." She coughed a little uncomfortably at the fact a little boy had complemented her on her makeup. But then, it really shouldn't surprise her too much by this point.

_Should I find out its name_? Liam asked Eden.

Promptly, Eden snapped, _No! You're not supposed to do that._It was yet another mystery of life that Liam could get into anyone's minds, not just hers. Eden had tried countless times, tried until she gave herself a splitting headache, until she threw up in the kitchen sink. And Liam could never figure out why she was incapable of what was such a simple task to him.

_Okay_. Liam frowned, and Natasha suddenly realized what they were doing. She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "Are you two...talking about me?" she chuckled quietly.

"Yes," Eden immediately answered. Lying, it was the same as leaving out facts or ignoring them. She knew. She went to church and confession. "But it wasn't anything bad," she hastily added.

Confession was one of her favorite things. If she couldn't talk to whoever was up _there_, she could talk to the next closest thing, the face behind the screen she may never see. But she may never see God, either, so the confession mister would have to do for now. But the best thing? You could start fresh every week, disregard your mistakes. Eden made many mistakes, she was sure of it.

"Alright." She smiled at the children, hoping to put the girl at ease, because she appeared as if she could faint like a sack of potatoes at any moment. "Come on." Thus once more, the twins were being led away by someone they didn't know to somewhere they didn't know.

"Monopoly," Eden giggled, jabbing Liam in the ribs, watching the way Natasha's red hair bounced slightly as she walked.

Liam elbowed her back until they were engaged in an elbowing frenzy and Natasha felt the ridiculous need to separate them. Why had she not questioned Fury on this, bringing two little kids into the mix? This entire thing was a huge mess to begin with, and not that she didn't particularly like the twins; she feared this was indeed a big mistake. Children were children.

She knew why, really. But the question still remained: Why? Natasha shook her head as if literally getting rid of such useless thoughts. Fury wouldn't have taken them if he didn't truly believe they were special and could somehow help.

"Here you are," she said, stopping in front of what Liam knew was a laboratory, or a lab, even if it made him think of the dog he was allergic to, where two old people with brown hair stood talking. One glanced over, he had a sad face and Eden wanted nothing more than to cheer him up. She felt responsible if anyone around her was unhappy. The other quickly glanced up from something the twins were too short to see over the window's ledge, nodded, and came towards them with a strange smile on his face.

Liam was really rather sensitive to bad memories,(they made him squeamish) especially ones concerning his allergic reactions, so the older twin automatically bent over and puked right on top of Tony Stark's shoes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Forgot to mention I don't own anything, even the many cultural references in this chapter ^^ **

.STARK

xNightBirdx

AkaEyes

**And of course **Little Weasley Girl**, I love you all :)**

* * *

For a good minute, it was absolutely silent, save for Liam wiping his mouth and chin with his sister's trusty handkerchief and Eden rubbing and patting his back.

Natasha but her lip and turned away, swiftly leaving the four to get acquainted. It greatly disturbed her that the kids looked so normal, like randomly throwing up was a regular occurrence.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark's jaw was being unhinged, a centimeter from touching the ground. "It's a pleasure," he said suddenly, making both children jump. "And don't worry-those were only about three grand. Each."

"I'm so sorry," Eden said, visibly trembling. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." The Flower Child pushed a strand of bothersome stray hair behind her ear, hands shaking. Why had she let Liam screw things up so soon? And he didn't even care, the butt head! They would be shipped back to their mother so fast if anything else went as terribly. This was a really fantastic start to their journey.

Tony noticed her nervousness, and silently cursed himself, allowing a smile when he heard Bruce trying not to laugh in the corner. "That's fine. Don't worry, kiddies." He nodded at them, and then viscously flung his left vomit-soaked shoe into the wall without any warning. It hit with a loud _whap_, then sailed toward Bruce, hitting his knee.

Liam laughed. Eden didn't.

With genuine curiosity, Tony wondered what was wrong with these kids, particularly the girl. Tony was the master at making, frankly, simple-minded children laugh. If he hadn't grown up to be a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, he would have been a party clown. "What's the matter, kid?" He kicked the other shoe at the wall, and this time Bruce was prepared, dodging the flying throw up with ease.

Eden sighed, her shoulders rising in exaggeration. She threw a careless look at Liam, who had currently waddled up to Bruce in his clicking high heels and was discussing candy canes with him. "I've seen you on T.V, even though I only watch it once a week. You have a commercial about going green. Green is good. Your name flashes at the end in shiny blue letters and my Momma says you must have been on drugs when you made it, but I don't know what drugs are, do you? It comes on three commercials after the second half of _Adventure Time With Finn and Jake_. You're Mr. Stark."

"Tony," he replied, a little flabbergasted. "Mr. Stark is my father."

"You're Mr. Tony," Eden said. "I'm Eden Malone, or you can call me Ms. Eden." She stuck a finger in her mouth, feeling butterflies in the pit of her stomach at telling a stranger her television watching habits. Even Liam didn't know she watched T.V. As far as he knew, it was only he and his mother, watching _I Didn't Know I was Pregnant_ and _The X Factor_.

Well, Mr. Tony was better than Mr. Stark, anyway. Mr. Stark made him feel old, and Tony Stark's very personal goal was to never grow up, as most people are aware of. "Can I call you plain old Eden?"

The girl scratched her chin in thought. "Okay, Mr. Tony." She went up on her tip toes, holding onto Tony's arm and whispering, "Can I please see Monty?"

"Any kind of candy cane that isn't peppermint is disgusting," the two heard Liam say to Bruce from across the room. Oh dear. Eden face-palmed, groaning, "Not again…" Tony found himself laughing out loud at such a silly action. This grade-schooler was more mature than he was! Or she worrisome more, at least. Kids this age weren't supposed to be going around performing serious face-palms. That was the parent's job.

Bruce glanced over at Tony with furrowed brows, frowning slightly, silently pleading with those big eyes for some backup. Liam stood with his hands placed firmly on his hips, bottom lip stuck out, staring at the scientist and fighting not to jump into his mind and find out if he was lying or not, if he truly believed orange candy canes were the best.

"Whoa there, handsome." Tony shuffled over in his sock feet, Eden right behind him with her arms folded across her chest like a condescending, nagging mother. He placed a hand atop the boy's rat's nest that was known as his hair. "We all have our opinions," he said. "But that doesn't mean everyone has to care about them."

"That's right," said Bruce. "Or agree."

Eden smacked her brother's shoulder, and a wave of blue glitter assaulted Bruce's face without mercy.

"Okay, that's enough for now, we have had a good time here," Tony said, and steered the children back to the door. He none-too-gently pushed them into the hallway. Wiping the glitter from Liam's dress onto his pants, he told them, "Ten steps, swing a left, third door on the right." He pointed at Eden, who had a very dejected look on her little pale face. "Hurry! Go! Little Monty's waiting for you!"

And this did the trick.

Tony sighed through his nose, running a hand through his hair as he watched the twins sprint down the hall and turn right. "Other way," he half-heatedly said. He closed the door, making sure to keep it unlocked, should the kids need anything. Amused, he said to Bruce, "Do you find them unbelievably strange?"

"Who?" asked Bruce, who fiddling with a piece of paper, in apparent deep thought.

"You know who." Tony punched his shoulder lightly.

"Well…" He mumbled, shaking his head as if truly considering what would be the proper answer. "Yes."

"Don't sound so guilty. Of course they're little weirdos. We're looking at babysitting a hippie and a sweet transvestite!"

At that, Bruce's eyes grew wide and he had to fight not to throw a hand over his mouth in complete and utter shock. "I cannot believe you just said that."

"Why?" asked Tony with that stupid little smug grin of his that everyone hated. "Never seen _Rocky Horror_?"

"I don't have to have seen anything to know that what you just said was not…polite."

"_This_," Tony pointed at Bruce's chest, "coming from the Green Rage Monster. Don't tell me about politeness."

That struck a nerve, and not in the way one would think. He replied calmly, "I just don't want them to feel any more different than they already do." If anyone knew what it felt like to be different, to not be accepted, it was Bruce. The fact the twins were the way they were had to mean something was not right to begin with.

"They'll be fine, if we keep them out of the way for a little while. Then, if we ever need them for something, 'cause as Fury said, we apparently will, they'll be here. We just need to give them some candy-"

"Candy won't help," said Bruce.

"It might," Tony grinned. "It might."


	4. Chapter 4

**First apperance of Loki...:O **

myster me**, thank you very much ^^ I'm glad you think it's unusual XD I aim for weirdness **

* * *

_Skinamarinky dinky dink  
Skinamarinka doo,  
I love you_.

Liam cringed as Monty the Carpet Python wrapped his long, yellowish-orange body around his little sister's throat.

_I love you in the morning  
and in the afternoon;  
I love you in the evening  
and underneath the moon_.

Even with this fat thing a careless squeeze away from shattering her delicate windpipe, his sister continued to sing, because Eden believed with all her heart that her singing voice calmed the snake. And if Monty ever needed calming, it was now.

_So, Skinamarinka dinky dink  
Skinamarink a doo,  
I love you_.

Eden clapped and took a bow for an invisible audience. Liam was not saying her voice was something particularly unpleasant, but she was definitely no Lady Gaga. "Ta-da!"

"Encore."

Eden beamed. She gently placed Monty back in his cage, which was twice the size of the one he lived in back in Queens, then sprawled out on her bed, apparently oblivious to the scratchy blankets that drove Liam crazy and made him want to lather his body is sanitizer and moisturizing cream. "I wanna meet Captain America. Remember those trading cards you had? Before you started being girly. And we buried them in the backyard."

"Captain America's here?" said Liam, genuine excitement in his voice since the first time aboard the Helicarrier.

"Yes."

"Wonderful. Let's go find him later. Right now, I need my beauty sleep." It was hardly five in the afternoon, but both children have had a long and emotionally draining day, and it wasn't going to get any better. They fell asleep in minutes, Liam too exhausted to even remove his makeup.

* * *

Hardly two hours later, Eden has crawled from her bed and wearily made her way across the small room to Liam's. She poked his cheek to make sure he was alive, then cuddled under the blanket, snuggling into his armpit. "We need to go mice hunting. Momma didn't send mice."

Liam was wide awake by this point as well. "Okay."

After a few moments of silence between the twins, Eden asked telepathically, cautiously, _Do you miss her_?

_Yes, _came the immediate and clipped reply.

Liam felt his sister snuggle closer into him, felt her breathing in his scent of strawberries and powder. _Is she coming back after we save the world_?

_No_.

_How do you know_? Eden asked, with a hint of panic, a strange sensation causing her arms and legs to wobble.

_I heard her say it._

_I didn't._

_No, I mean..._Liam sighed and placed his lips on the shell of her ear to comfort her.

_Okay_. Eden quickly understood, and again felt the pang of jealousy deep in her stomach. Luckily it stays away, before she blurts out something she will later regret_. So she's really not coming back, is she_?

_Nuh-uh._

_Okay_. Never had the girl felt such a deep sense of loss, of devastation. Those few words shattered all she ever knew, but yet, the truth still didn't come as a huge surprise. It wasn't as if a ton of bricks hit her, but rather, it felt like a poke, someone in your face, taunting, _I told you so. I told you so_.

Liam recognized she was upset. "Wanna go mouse hunting?" he whispered.

"Kinda," she replied, noticing but ignoring her twin's callousness toward their situation. She sat up and glanced around the small room SHIELD had given them for the foreseeable future. It was tiny, with just enough room for their beds, even though they shared, a bathroom which was a guarantee Liam would hog, and Monty's home. Tears sprung into her eyes as she realized this may be her home forever.

"Don't cry." Liam scrambled beside his little sister, tossing the blanket over her shaking shoulders, wrapping her in it like a taco. "'Cause I'll cry, and them my mascara will run."

"Okay," Eden sniffled, determined not to cry. She had to be brave. She thought going back home was something she would never want to do, but now that she knew she couldn't, the desire was stronger than it had ever been.

"I can go by myself," suggested Liam, knowing how frightened people were of the snake and probably would try to avoid giving him food as long as possible. Really, Monty only ate about twice a month.

"I can't let you." A grin broke along Eden's features. She had Liam. I have Liam no matter what. "You'll grab the wrong stuff."

"Did you bring the mousetraps?"

"Yes!" The younger twin leaped to her feet, vigor renewed. "There's no cheese, though."

"They left us macaroni and cheese..." mumbled Liam, referring to the small meal Tony had brought in while they were napping, because, in the words of Tony Stark, 'All kids love mac and cheese.'

The children stared down at the two plates. The food had long grown cold by that point. "It looks like plastic," Eden observed.

"Agreed. Wanna eat it?"

"No. Do you?"

"It smells good," the boy had to admit, never having tasted such food before. In fact, this was the closest they had been to anything edible that wasn't healthy or organic, aside from their precious candy canes.

"True true," said Eden, "but I don't trust it. We could use it for the mousetraps. It must be called macaroni _and cheese_for a reason."

"Okay." Liam grabbed the other blanket and wrapped it around his own shoulders as Eden went into her tiny suitcase and took out six traps. "Bye, Monty. I love you." She blew a kiss to her pet snake. Both twins took a bowl of Kraft Dinner, and ventured outside their cramped living quarters to further explore the Helicarrier.

* * *

The twins didn't know exactly what time it was, but for sure it was past eight p.m. Hardly any agents passed them as they wandered the ship, and Mr. Tony and Mr. Bruce were nowhere to be found. Eden was greatly disappointed. Mr. Tony was the only real friend she had made thus far, and he had left. She loved his smile, like angel fleece, like it was the first smile she had ever received. She loved his goatee and she loved the way his eyebrows barely slid together when he was confused. Five minutes they had known one another, and she was prepared to accept a marriage proposal from the guy.

Randomly, Eden and Liam set up mouse traps in corners, topped with spoonfuls of old macaroni and cheese. They were down to only one, held by Liam, when they saw him behind the thick glass.

Liam saw him first, as usual. He was standing, hands behind his back, dressed in brilliant green and black leather attire, unlike anything he had ever seen. It was unearthly, ethereal. And the desire to go up to him and just touch him, to see if he was real was quite strong. However, Eden was too busy setting up the last trap by the bottom of the stairs leading up to the cage to notice what Liam had noticed. She hummed _All You Need is Love _way out of tune as she scooped up some cold noodles with her fingers and placed it in the trap.

He was smiling now, a large grin with way too many teeth showing to be friendly. Through the blood rushing in his ears, Liam felt the alien presence in his mind, much more forceful than Eden's. He didn't belong in Liam's head, but he was in there nonetheless.

_You have quite the gift_.

When the boy realized what these words meant, he replied, _Thank you. It takes a lot of practice_. He pressed his lips together, somehow feeling more vulnerable without any lipstick.

_I imagine it would, for one so young_. Liam, slowly beginning to panic, struggled to kick him out of his mind, but oh, was the hold strong.

"Your sister has this same gift, does she not?" he asked, speaking aloud for the first time, tilting his head to the side. His voice was quiet and filled Liam with dread. It had a bitter quality to it, what Liam imagined dark chocolate to sound like, should it have a voice. His hair was as black as coal, shiny and slicked back, almost as long as Liam's.

The oldest twin's feet seemed glued to the ground, his eyes locked onto the man's intense green ones. It felt as if there was no glass separating them. Before another word could be exchanged, the patter of two bare feet came bounding up the steps. Breathlessly, Eden shouted, "I did it, Liam! Last one-"

She stopped mid-sentence, getting her first look at him, breath hitching in her throat. "Wha..." she gasped. The expectant smile on her face instantly vanished, clearly noticing that the person that now stood speaking with her brother was definitely _not_what she had been expecting. Unable to think of anything else to say, she blurted out, "Are you an Avenger, too?"

He laughed-a quiet chuckle that was anything but friendly. "I believe I am not," he said. "I am Loki, of Asgard."

"That's a funny kinda name," said Liam with shaky bravado.

Loki's smile, just as Eden's had, disappeared. "And you do not find your names ridiculous?" He pointed at Eden, and all colour from her face drained away, leaving her at least two shades paler. "You. Ed_en_." He put much emphasis on the N. "Do you know what you are christened after, little one?"

She did know, she was named after a famous garden, but no words would come out. Her rational thinking ability had been snatched away by an overwhelming ocean of fear. Eden opened her mouth to reply; soon discovering the only thing to emerge from it was unsteady silence. The frail girl tried to gasp for air, feeling the oxygen force itself arduously from inside her small lungs.

Liam acted quickly; glaring at this so-called Loki with such hatred it frightened his sister, who had never seen so much loathing on a human face. He forcefully dragged her away, back to their, 'home,' where Monty was waiting and the world was good and scary alien men didn't walk around.

He held her up as they walked, for she was on the verge of fainting again, while he himself once more felt like puking, even if there was nothing to bring up. This time, Loki's voice was loud and clear in both the twin's minds. _Until we meet again_, he said, and it would have almost sounded genuinely pleasant if it had not come from who it came from. Eden jumped in surprise, and then smacked the side of her head as if trying to physically throw him out. But his presence was gone as soon as it had appeared.

Back in their room, snuggled up in bed, sharing one scratchy blanket, Monty across their shoulders, Liam attempted to comfort his little sister, who was undoubtedly shaken up. From the moment he had seen Loki, he knew this was the reason they were here. He had something SHIELD needed, and this he distinguished from merely scratching the surface of the god's thoughts, before, of course, Loki blocked him out.

"Know what?" Eden asked.

"I know a lot," said Liam.

"Know what?" she repeated. The shaking had come to a near complete stop and some colour returned to her cheeks. Liam inwardly cheered. Nothing he hated more than his twin being upset, and each time he made her feel better was a small victory. He had hurt her enough today.

"What?"

"I think he's the bad guy." She swung her head up and gazed at him, hoping to be told she was correct. The seriousness she presented this statement with made Liam giggle.

"I would have to agree," he said, and the twins stayed wrapped up together like that for a long time.

* * *

**Reviews are nice. They are the bacon to my eggs, the Abbott to my Costello. thanks for reading :D **

**Katerina **


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is pure silliness ;D nothing wrong with that xP as always, I reply personally to all reviews, and I give cookies!~**

Pergjithshme**,do you really think so? Nothing too bad happens, I promise ;D thanks for reviewing, too ^^ **

myster me**, hello again, how are you? wow, thanks so much (: **

* * *

Nick Fury was thoroughly ticked off. This was not supposed to happen; this was not the way it had been planned. Agent Hill noticed his mood, and quietly suggested there were other options, after all. They were kids; something like this was bound to happen. Of course they get themselves into trouble, things they are not meant to. It's a child's nature.

"What really pisses me," said the Director of SHIELD, "I tripped on one of those stupid mousetraps."

* * *

They were shaken awake at six in the morning by none other than Tony Stark, (with new shoes) after a long and fitful night. "Awaken my sleeping beauties!" He slapped Liam's back. Liam rolled over and, by complete accident, shoved Eden to the cold, unforgiving floor.

"Ow!" she squeaked, landing hard on her back.

Tony helped her to her feet once more. He gasped, faking seriousness. "You're a bully," he told Liam, dusting the girl's pajamas off.

"He's okay," said Eden, automatically jumping to Liam's defense.

"I'd watch my back if I were you," he informed her, looking at the groggy boy from out of the corner of his eye. "He could snap at any moment." Mr. Tony went on to explain today was a big day, hope you slept well, _blah blah blah_. Liam was too busy applying his makeup (and he was short on blush) to pay much attention, and Eden and Monty were meditating. Never had Stark felt so unimportant before. You didn't ignore him. That was a fact of life. You did not ignore Anthony Edward Stark.

These kids needed to learn to listen. And if Tony had to do it the hard way and bash their heads together, so be it.

"_CHILDREN_!" he boomed, throwing his arms in the air. "When someone bigger than you is talking, you're supposed to listen. Rule number one if you want to be a successful grown-up."

Liam poked himself in the eye whist applying mascara, screaming bloody murder; Eden shrieked in horror, earning a hiss from Monty, who was comfortably coiled around her neck. It didn't help she was especially jumpy today, what with the entire Loki of Asgard incident the day before. Liam was rather paranoid as well, but not to the extent Eden's anxiety went.

It took a fair amount of self-control for Stark not to freak out all over again, but he stayed calm, smoothing down his hair. They were second-graders? A second-grader was putting on makeup in front of a mirror. And not even the girl. As much as he would like to find the twins' weird, cross-dressing, tree-hugging telepaths, he can't help but, dare he say it...like them.

"Don't yell," Liam mumbled, dabbing his watery eye with some Kleenex.

"Yelling doesn't make something any more possible," said Eden as she gently placed Monty back into his home. She was sure he enjoyed it very much. If only she could say the same for herself. But now that Mr. Tony was here, perhaps things would get better.

"Words of wisdom," said Tony. He wandered into the bathroom where Liam sat on top of the sink, crying from his right eye. "Hey, pickle," he said. "What's with all this?" He gestured grandly to the array of beauty products, crinkling his nose at the over-powering smell. Pepper didn't put on this much junk.

"It beautifies me," came the simply elegant reply.

"Wouldn't you rather look manly, ruggedly handsome like me?" Tony struck a pose. He really wasn't sure why he cared so much, but here he was.

Liam tossed the used Kleenex into the wastebasket, seemingly all finished. "No. You would look better if you shaved."

Tony let out a genuine gasp this time. "This is my pride and joy." Lovingly, the billionaire patted his beard. Again, that was a first. No one had ever insulted his beard. This kid was brave.

While the two argued endlessly, Eden occupied herself making the itchy beds, changing out of her pajamas and into a tie-dye dress, munching on a granola bar, anything to keep her from thinking of yesterday's events or what was to follow. Just the thought of tall alien men gave her terrible shivers. It made her afraid to be away from her twin even for a moment, and she was sure he knew this. Liam loved her and often knew what she was thinking or feeling before she expressed it. This was without mind-reading, of course.

Liam hopped out of the bathroom, eyes painted black and hair pulled back in a messy mass of curls commonly known as a bun. "There's another birth defect," he told Eden matter-of-factly, pointing at Tony, who was curiously inspecting a tube of eyeliner as if it had come from somewhere other than Earth.

"Hey!" A sudden wave of anger whooshed through her, and Eden smacked her brother's arm, and she meant this one to hurt. The moment after she did it, the girl regretted it wholly. As a believer in peace, she just disregarded her beliefs and gave in.

Liam scowled, but nodded in understanding at the plain look of guilt on his sister's face.

Tony stepped in between the two and proclaimed triumphantly, "_Pancakes_!"

* * *

Tony had never made pancakes before, as one would very likely guess. The instructions on the box made it look so darn easy. How he wished he had Pepper here to do everything for him. He wouldn't have really cared, but seeing the macaroni noodles throughout the Helicarrier, they plainly hadn't had anything to eat yet. Why they didn't want Kraft Dinner greatly puzzled him, but who was he to judge people's tastes? Luckily he felt no pressure from the kids to hurry his butt up; they sat back-to-back at the counter half-asleep.

Thor came bursting in rather suddenly, and this got Eden and Liam's full attention. By now Tony was accustomed to the god's unorthodox entrances. "Man of Iron, what is that delightful odor wafting-" He stopped at the sight of the two newcomers.

"Greetings," said Liam. "I'm Liam. I live on Earth, in a shiny plane. I love eating cinnamon toothpaste and I love the smell of raisins."

Thor turned to a struggling Tony endeavouring to place the pancakes on a plate. "Why did you not tell me we were taking elves along with us?"

While Eden pondered the meaning of the word _Elf_, Thor bounded over and wrapped Liam in a death-grip huggle. So deep in thought was she, she didn't even notice Thor turning to her next and pulling her into his huge arms that made Loki's look like little sticks. The breath from her lungs was successfully squeezed out of her. Eden had known Thor was Loki's brother, but without this previous knowledge, not many people would have guessed. The two couldn't have been any more different, physically or socially. Thor appeared kind, jovial, and, compared to his brother, downright normal, like nothing unpleasant was lurking behind his big eyes. _Well-adjusted_, a word her mother often used.

Tony laughed hysterically, apparently forgetting all about the pancakes, as Eden managed to choke out, "Mr. Thor, you're squishing me. Stop it. I'm not some cantaloupe on sale at the supermarket."

Liam said, fluffing his hair messed up by Thor, "No one would buy you if you were on sale."

"Not bad, pickle," Tony said, though his laughter wavered. There was obviously something unpleasant happening between the twins, and being the nosy little man he was, he had to find out. And…where had _pickle_ originated from?

Thor let Eden go without any gracefulness, and turned his attention to Liam, who now stood tapping his high-heeled heel on the floor, arms folded. "Elf child, why do you insist on dressing in a manner fit for a woman?"

In response, Liam smacked his bright red lips in a total act of defiance. "_Why not_ dress like a woman?"

Thor seemed confused, as well as mildly grossed out. "Why?" he asked again.

"Not used to cross-dressers in Asgard or wherever?" asked Tony, piling the stack of abnormally shaped pancakes with whipped cream.

"Why not?" the telepath repeated.

"Why?" Thor said after a long pause.

"Why not?"

"Why?"

"_Why not_? It's a free country."

Eden was admittedly worried Thor would have a freak out, so she inconspicuously stepped behind Tony. The tension between the god and the tiny mortal could be cut with a knife. Neither was going to give in… Finally, Thor tilted his head, blonde hair falling over his broad shoulders. He remarked, "I do not understand, Child Elf."

Eden let out a breath of relief, and a small smile crossed Liam's face. For now, all was well aboard the Helicarrier. And for the first time in years, the twins were about to have their first ever sugar high, a day for the record books.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lots of Steve and Bruce 3 Last kinda boring chapter before things get epic...and Yay! nineteen reviews ;D reviews are nice, please give me more ^_^**

* * *

The high ended as soon as it began. It was Thor who calmed them down, literally pinning each twin to the ground until they stopped screeching.

And then the puking began.

It was Tony's responsibility to clean the mess up, as Thor had done the truly muscly work. (What were they? Ten pounds each?) Of course he had tried to get another agent to do it for him, but who would really say, _Yes, I'd love to help clean up puke_, even to Anthony Edward Stark? The incident was a nightmare Tony would never forget. Though he would try. Whipped cream mustaches, the bruise on his cheek from a stiletto heel to the face. Thor got it bad, too, Eden viciously biting at his nose, reminding Tony of Hannibal Lecter-like character.

And the pointless arguments. Liam stood on the table while Eden hung off the cupboards.

"Stupid!"

"Idiot!"

"...Poop!"

"_Poop head_!"

"_DIARRHEA HEAD_!"

Tony cursed, moving on to what hopefully was the last pile of puke. At about this moment, a furious Nick Fury burst through the glass doors. Stark suppressed an eye roll, mentally preparing himself for the biggest lecture of his life. "Mr. Stark," boomed Fury.

_Here it comes_. Tony sighed and resumed mopping, now more frantically. How he wished he had Steve here with him. For reasons he couldn't explain, Cap always made him feel better, somehow.

"_Mr. Stark, what is going on here_?"

"Well, I tried to stop them, I really did..."

"Stark, where are they? They were your responsibility, and we need them, damn it!"

Watching Fury get so worked up highly amused Tony. He was worried that vein in his forehead just may explode at any given moment. The genius' face broke into an involuntarily grin and he said, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the responsible type, nor am I the fatherly type. Chill out. They're probably passed out around here somewhere."

A truly horrified look came across Fury's face. What had Stark done to them? "Passed out?" he questioned.

"Pancakes. Sugar. Health nuts. What goes up must come down."

* * *

Eden and Liam, somewhere along their drunken journey, had lost one another. Liam, practically miles away from his sister, was glued to Bruce's hip as he fervently worked on something Liam couldn't even begin to pronounce correctly. Not that he cared. He had an awful headache and all of his makeup was smeared across his face, crusty whipped cream dried onto his orange kimono. He sunk to the floor and leaned against Bruce's legs. "Is that what a hangover is like?" he wondered out loud.

Bruce felt quite uncomfortable at the moment, and not just by the fact Liam knew what a hangover was. The scientist was anything but used, let alone comfortable, to anyone touching him. Even if someone was merely standing too close he felt incredibly awkward. Now he had a child snuggled into his legs…And he didn't mind in the least. "How do you know what a hangover is?" he said, saying what honestly first came to mind.

"Momma," replied Liam. "Every Saturday morning." He quietly began humming the song _Last Friday Night_, to Bruce's major disturbance.

"Not quite," said Bruce with a small smile. "First time you had pancakes?"

"Yeah. Why did that happen?"

"It's called a _Sugar Rush_," said Bruce, "or _The Placebo Effect_." He glanced down at Liam, who was staring back eagerly at him, so he continued. Not many people listened to his rambling. "Apparently after you eat a large amount of sugar, you become hyper-active for a short time, and then you crash. Like you are now. But that's all just a myth. Sugar floods your bloodstream with glucose, which your brain needs. If glucose levels are high, it makes you feel energized."

"Really happy," Liam observed.

"Exactly." Bruce found himself smiling, enjoying the company. "If blood-glucose levels are rapidly rising, it causes a high degree of insulin release, which-"

"Makes you feel like you have a hangover," the little telepath moaned, standing up and wrapping his arms around Bruce's waist. He felt startled, but then patted the top of his head awkwardly, in a weak attempt to comfort. His face buried into Bruce's stomach, breath warm, he said, "You're my best friend."

Bruce smiled.

* * *

Eden missed Liam. More than once, she shad tried to talk to him, but he merely blocked her out the way she could not to him. She wandered the Helicarrier, too ashamed of herself to find any consonance in Mr. Tony. Too terrified to wander anywhere near where Loki of Asgard was situated, she settled into a ball on the nice comfy floor. She closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the pounding in her head. She knew it was not all due to the sugar. The child had never seen so stressed before. She felt like a 30-year-old single mother with five kids hanging off her legs and a deadbeat ex who won't pay the child support. Similar to her own mother.

When she next opened her eyes, a tall, handsome and blonde Mister was standing over her with a confused look. Unknown to Eden, this could only be Steve Rogers, or the legendary Captain America. Normally such a thing would have alarmed her, but he seemed so nice, she felt no apprehension, perhaps for the first time ever.

"Hello," said the Mister. "Who are you?"

"Eden Malone," Eden replied, remaining on her back on the ground. "Who are you?"

"Hello, Eden. I'm Steve. Steve Rogers," he hastily added, noticing the child's look, as if urging him on.

"Hi."

"Nice to meet you."

Eden felt the greetings game coming on, so she held out her hand, and Steve easily pulled her to her feet by the wrist. Her mother would want her to be polite, even if...She decide to focus on her new friend rather than less pleasant thoughts.

"I've heard a lot about you."

"Okay." Eden blushed and stuck her index finger in her mouth.

"Yeah, you and your twin."

"_That's me_!"

"You're pretty special," he said, and he actually sounded like he meant it. He had instantly recognized the twin from Fury's Avengers Imitative…thingamajig. And of course, she was he shortest person onboard.

"Did they kidnap you too?" Eden Malone inquired, standing on her tip toes to look into his blue eyes, so similar to her own.

Steve shrugged. "Sort of."

Eden sighed. At least her headache had subsided. Quite suddenly, Eden held her arms out and asked shyly, yet anxiously, "Can I have a hug?"

Steve scratched at his hair. He was not expecting such a request. Were such things common in the 21st Century? Random people showing such affection after just meeting. Well, like Tony said, he had to go with it. "Sure." He also held his arms out, and they embraced. Eden smelled like graham crackers.

When he heard a gasp come from the girl, he let go, afraid perhaps he had squeezed her too tight. Instead, with wide eyes, she said, "Are you Captain America?"

"How'd you know?"

"_The star_." The little telepath patted the star on the Captain's chest, then rested her hand on it, palm-down. She seemed mesmerized by the simple design. To her it symbolized freedom, the right to be who you are. Almost like the peace sign necklace she was never seen without.

"Oh. I forgot I was wearing this," said Steve with honesty.

"They look like pajamas. I brought pajamas. They have elephants on them. Do you know what that is?" Her hand still was placed flat against the star.

"I believe I do," replied Steve. Finally. Something he could understand.

"Did you know they're almost ex…exter…extinct."

"Really? Are you gonna tell me Polar Bears are almost extinct, too?"

"Yes." Eden frowned deeply, making her seem wiser beyond her years. "The polar ice caps are melting as we speak. If you give me money I'll donate it to Coca-Cola, who's trying to save them."

_I love Coca-Cola_, thought Captain, but he did not say it. "What about cats? Do people still have cats anymore?" He used what Tony called _sarcasm_, which was much more common these days than it was in 1941.

"Uh-huh. And bunnies." Eden squeaks, a very happy sound. "I love bunnies. Momma bought me a bunny named Jude, but my snake, Monty, got hungry, so..."

Again, Steve was shocked. "Oh my," was all he could accomplish at the child's clear implications.

Eden nodded. "Yeah. We didn't feed him for four months after that."

* * *

Not long after that conversation, while Eden and Steve strolled about quite content with life and each other's company, a frantic Tony could be seen running around the Helicarrier like a madman. Which, frankly, wasn't very far from the truth, if anyone knew Tony Stark very well.

Hulk was Hulking out.

* * *

It hadn't brought a lot on to make this happen, and much later when Bruce looked back on it, it was the biggest lapse of maturity he had ever experienced. All it took was an argument between him and Liam, and although he liked the kid, he was damn stubborn, and it frustrated him to no end. Everyone knew Narwhals didn't exist, _EVERYONE_, but the way Liam talked so convincingly about them, Bruce almost found himself believing it. And when he began poking his arm, that's when he lost it.

His skin was tinting green when Liam first began screaming his head off, which of course made everything twice as worse. Tony was panicking, and rushed to find Steve, because in all probability, Steve was the gentlest person he knew and could probably bring him out of this before anyone else could.

And this is how Steve and a reluctant Eden ended up in Bruce's lab trying desperately to calm the inner Hulk down.

Bruce was breathing heavily, clutching the corners of the counter, shaking like a leaf. Steve was patting his back and saying awkwardly comforting things, which were not much of a help, while Stark was smart enough to stay away and pace circles in the corner, along with Liam, who never before had felt as guilty as he did now. He hadn't meant to upset him; he had purely tried to prove a point. His mother always called him a princess, but maybe that was a lie. Maybe he was just a nasty little piece of poo, a _Diarrhea Head_, after all. But such considerations would have to wait.

_Fix him, please_, he told Eden, who was slowly making her way closer to the shaking scientist, a brave and unwavering look on her face.

_I am_, Eden replied as she placed a small, pale hand on Bruce's shoulder, preparing herself. She shooed Captain America away, who couldn't help but feel a little dejected. Taking a deep breath, she mentally began speaking to him. _This sucks, doesn't it_? she said, just as nervous as he was, for she had never practiced this certain ability of hers on anyone but her brother. But this doesn't mean she wasn't good at taking other's emotions away from them or giving them back, which was something commonly known as _Empathy_. In seconds, Bruce was practically back to normal, albeit still wobbly and terribly upset, but the beast had been tamed. No Hulking out today!

"How the hell-heck did you do that?" said Tony, patting Bruce's back. Bruce snapped at him in reply, as he was still getting over what had just happened and the Narwhal comment. Slowly but surely, his even skin colour returned and his labored breathing returned to normal….But he was sill mad.

Eden shrugged, a wobbly sensation taking over her body, but nothing she couldn't handle. Liam smiled at her, but refused to come out from under the table in fear of setting Bruce off again. "I don't know. I just take his and feelings," she attempted to explain, "and…throw them out a mind window." She demonstrated with her hands, throwing invisible air feelings around.

Steve was utterly confused, but relieved so much that he almost had to pee. Tony, however, was sill suspicious. "Elaborate," he said.

Eden was perplexed. No one usually cared about what she and Liam could do. Or, in this case, what she could do. "I take his badness," she tried again, "and get rid of it, so he feels something else."

Stark snapped his fingers, again smacking Bruce on the back. "She's an Empath."


	7. Chapter 7

Loki was growing awfully impatient. He had things, important things humans could never understand, to attend to. He had spent quite a while by human standpoints (even by god standpoints) figuring out how this entire thing would go down, how his army would conquer Midgard, how long it would take for the beast to break free. He felt, dare I say it...slightly apprehensive.

It had almost worked. Once. At first it had infuriated him that the little mortal, Eden or something along those lines, had stopped it. But, after a quick reflection of his situation, it turned out better than worse. This could be very useful information in the long run. The fact something so tiny could control something so much bigger than itself fascinated him. The potential this held was limitless. The, "Avengers," were nothing but humans frolicking about in tights and masks. These two, however, had abilities even some Asgardians would envy.

Loki continued his pacing in the cage, occasionally his eye twitching in agitation. When he was beginning to doubt himself, the god heard the unmistakable roar of the Hulk. Sighing in contentment, his face broke into a wide grin and a small, amused chuckle escaped his lips.

* * *

If anyone had been paying attention, it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say it was positively shocking the twins slept through the entire ordeal. Particularly Tony. He knew they were crashing, but this was ridiculous. Of course, no one paid the kids a whole lot of mind at the very moment. Except Tony, who briefly wondered if they were okay, or were freaking out, hiding under their bed? The possibilities were endless...They weren't dumb, though. Stark was sure they knew when to stay out of the way. Mostly all kids knew, except for him. What he would've given to have been an obedient little kid. Maybe he would have gotten along better with others.

Loki strode through the Floating Fortress, in calm as possible way, in search for the telepathic twins. In minutes he found them comically sprawled out across the ground in front of a half-open door. They must have been trying to get inside, but they conked out before they could even make it into the room. Loki laughed, not a scary madman laugh, but in genuine amusement. Midgardian children were funny. He wondered if they had feelings.

Loki bent down, carefully scooping the twins up. Holding them in his arms-it just didn't feel right to him, though he would have been lying to himself if he said that it didn't feel strangely good. They weren't terrified of him, shaking in fear, or glaring hatefully at him, all expressions he was so accustomed to. He couldn't remember the last time someone had willingly let him hold them in his arms, if ever.

Liam's head rested against his shoulder, Eden snuggled into the crook of his neck. He stiffened at the action, not used to someone so intimately close to him. This brought the Trickster out of his monetary daze. He had things to do.

* * *

When Eden awoke, it felt as if she had slept for days, heavy and dreamless. Just like every time, whether it is an afternoon nap or in the morning, Eden stretched her arms, left and right, to feel for Liam and make sure he was there, safe and sound. Of course he was. She ran her fingers through his tangled hair, wishing she could cut it off and somehow implant it on her head. He'd like hers better, anyway. Half of his getting ready for the day was taming the hair. Hers was like straw, easy to care for. Add some spray and it was a fact Liam could pull it off, make it into something fantastically gorgeous.

It took a surprisingly long time for Eden to notice this most certainly was not her bed. It was not even her scratchy SHIELD bed. This was something entirely new, soft and silky and squishy and smelled like a brand new set of crayons and muffins, mixed into one dizzying aroma that nearly knocked her out once more. She hugged the silky blanket to her chest, sighing. When she observed the blanket, fluffy pillows and even the sheets were a dark emerald green, the girl immediately knew something was horribly, horribly wrong.

Eden bolted upright, staring straight into the eyes of Loki of Asgard. He was sitting, looking rather bored, at the end of the long green fluffy bed. Instead of what she had last seen him wearing, he was dressed pretty normally, in a dark green suit with a tie. His hair looked exactly the same, as his pale face. So pale, in fact, Eden wondered if he smeared baking powder on it like a clown would. He had lazily turned his head towards her at her stirring. He smiled; all teeth. "Good evening."

"Wha-where?" she gasped, desperately trying to comprehend what was happening, panic clawing at her stomach, fear pooling into her fingertips. Where was Mr. Tony, or Captain America, or even Bubble Butt?

"I'm terribly sorry if I have inconvenienced you at all," Loki said, mock pouting.

Eden tried to speak, tried to have the words as Liam or Mr. Tony often did, but all she could do was let out an undignified noise of fright and haul the blankets over her head as if it offered any protection.

This incident woke the older twin. Just as frightened as his sister, but able to somewhat hide it well, a sleepy-eyed and confused Liam sat up and said, "Hi, Loki of Asgard."

"Hello, tiny mortal," replied Loki, sensing his uneasiness but admiring his bravery.

Liam patted the shaking body of Eden, who was still too frightened to move. This hardly consoled her. What had happened? Why was Loki the scary alien man here? The thought of what could happen from now on made her so scared she almost fainted, but that would be impossible, with all of her teeth chattering. "What's a m-mortal mean?"

"That's what you are," said Loki, taking note of Liam's very first stutter thus far.

"I'm a human bean," he said.

"Human being, actually," Loki corrected, proving himself wrong. Perhaps mortals, even children, could be more intelligent than they appeared.

"Thank you. You're smart. You must have gone to college."

This was a term the god was unfamiliar with. "Is college some Midgardian system of learning?" he questioned with only a hint of real inquisition.

Liam by this point had paled a few shades, hands began to tremble. He averted Loki's gaze, trying to inconspicuously plan a route of escape, to get away. The room was bigger than anywhere Liam had ever been, spacious and green, green everywhere. It was a really rather cozy place, and judging by view from the huge bay window, very tall up, as he could see the tops of some of the tallest buildings in New York.

The corner of a green pillow was clenched in his fist. "Maybe," he finally said. "My Momma went to college where she had me and Eden. I don't know my daddy. I was born first. Eden came a minute and twelve seconds later. She was backwards. I can't read time. Have you seen any Alfred Hitchcock movies? Do you like Coca-Cola?"

Loki ran his tongue along his upper row of teeth as he contemplated all that had been said. Who knew they would be this talkative? Well, one of them, at least. Faintly, he said, "I have not attended college."

"Me neither. It's not legal yet. That's illegal."

It was quiet for a little while. Liam tried to hold Loki's gaze, but he ended up being the first to look away, to stare at the shaky blob known as Eden. Loki stared out the window, creepily silent.

Since neither had anything to say to one another, Liam crawled under the blankets, joining his sister, and wrapped Eden up in his arms. _This is weird_, he said. For the oddest reason he felt like laughing.

_He's gonna eat us_!

"I have no intentions to eat anyone," Loki informed the telepaths.

Everyone sincerely fell silent now, although the twins were no less relieved at this solemn promise. Loki, the god of mischief, felt a strange sense of guilt. He really never wanted them to dislike him, or be afraid of him. Especially the girl, who was having a panic attack as we speak. Maybe they would like some of those flat, sugary things...pancakes? He had no clue as to how to prepare them, but being a god, he would quickly discover all he needed concerning Midgardian feeding habits.

The spongy quietness and her darling brother slowly coaxed Eden out from under the covers. She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the sunlight. (Though the sun was setting.) She seemed so calm; Liam wondered if she even remembered where they were. That's why it startled him when she leaped from the bed and dashed for the nearest door, her legs carrying her as fast as she could take her.

Loki easily could have stopped her if he wanted to. Truthfully, he was too entertained by her to stop her. The slam of the door could be heard, and Liam cringed. It was going to take a whole lot to get his sister to come out. To say she was incredibly, disgustingly stubborn would be an understatement.

Of course, Loki was unaware of this, and Liam wasn't about to open his mouth any time soon.

The God of mischief smiled grimly as he strolled to where Eden was hiding. His hand closed around the cool metal of the doorknob as he pushed on the door with a mixture of annoyance and anticipation.

Only to find that it wouldn't budge. At all.

_Damn_.

His entire good mood came to an abrupt halt. She had locked him out of his own room. (Well, Tony Stark's, actually, but at the moment, his.) She actually had the nerve to lock him out. How dare she? He shook his head back and forth in disbelief, smirking tiredly, but not yet acceptant of defeat. "_Eeeeeden_…" he cooed in a sickly sweet voice, "open the doooooor…"

The hippie trembled on the other side as if the earth shook beneath her feet.

Loki could have had the child out of there without having to lift a finger if he so wished, but he knew that would only make things worse. He needed them to trust him, and breaking a door into smithereens would most definitely not earn him any trust. "Eden," he tried again, softly. "_Darling_..."

Silence. As if she was not even there. Liam swallowed thickly from across the spacious room.

Loki was truly becoming angered. Perhaps this was not one of his better ideas. Maybe the god had made a mistake. Because, for the foreseeable future, the flower child would not be moving from her hiding spot.

* * *

**May be the last for a while, just before it starts getting fun! xD i have exams D: wish me luck (: should I continue this anyway? I'm not sure if too many people like it...? Let me know...^^**

**Love Katerina **


	8. Chapter 8

**Yes, Phil lives in this one. He's too beautiful to leave out ;D**

Myster Me**, thanks again :D I'm glad you like Eden and Liam!**

Loki's-Sigy**n, thanks! Adorable is good, so here's more^^**

* * *

Liam frowned. "Oh dear," he murmured under his breath. If he hadn't been nervous of him, he would have laughed in Loki's face. _I knew it_!

Eden was horrified, to say the least. What had she done? She stuck her hand in her mouth, tears welling in her eyes, a choked sob escaping her throat. As we know, Eden was one who constantly looked on the bright side. And on the bright side in her current situation, happened to be that this certain bathroom smelled like amazingly expensive wonderful soaps. If she were in here for a long time, she'd have somewhere to go to the bathroom (which was always important), somewhere to take a bath, water, and maybe food if the soap was eatable.

She listened at Loki stomped away, and she sighed in relief, even smiling a little. She would survive for the time being, and maybe she would enjoy it.

Loki frowned, storming up to Liam. With each step the god took toward him, Liam pulled a pillow closer and closer to his person. By the time Loki was in front of him, he had the pillow covering his whole pale face, squishing his nose to the left. He viscously ripped it away, tossing it to the ground over his shoulder, then leaning in, taking up way too much of Liam's personal bubble. "_Get. Her. Out_." With each word spoken, Loki drew closer to Liam until their noses were touching. His breath was freezing cold, inhuman. The child thought absently about what would be cold and not human, and his mind first went to fish. They lived underwater. Water was cold. Loki must be a fish of some sort.

"Well?" the fish questioned, tilting his head to the side. Long fingers slowly closed around his windpipe, with enough pressure to scare him but not enough to seriously hurt him, though Loki really, really wanted to. The wide, watery eyes of the tiny mortal stared into his. Loki's face came dangerously close to Liam's, and as he spoke the child felt the coldness wash over his face. "Get her out, _pickle_," Loki hissed, his voice dripping with poison. Liam whimpered at the use of Mr. Tony's nickname for him, desperately trying to take a deep breath. He raised his arms and clawed at those iron-like wrists. Liam thought of the fish's last words and managed to reply with the very first thing he learned about fishes. "Gills!" he squeaked.

Loki's grip loosened considerably. "What?"

"Gills," Liam gasped. "Where are your gills?" He squeezed his eyes shut as tears began leaking from under his makeup-free eyelids.

"What?" Loki repeated incredulously, eyebrows sliding together in confusion.

With all the strength the telepath had, he then ripped himself away from Loki the Fish and dashed towards the door, furiously knocking away. "Edie!" he wailed.

"Go away!"

_Edie, come out. And guess what?_

_What?_

_Loki is a fish._

_No way!_

_Yeppers peppers._

_Where are his gills?_

Loki face-palmed.

Liam turned on him. "Stop doing that!" he demanded, feeling a wave of bravery, something not too uncommon while his twin was involved. "We got rights. We are entitled to our own private conversations." He stamped his foot to prove his point, followed by the other. "We are in _A-mer-i-ca_." He pronounced the country's title slowly, as if Loki had never heard of it and was just now learning how to speak.

"Oh _my_, what intelligent words for one with such limited mind capacity," Loki drawled, straightening out his scarf which Liam had accidentally tugged almost completely off in his escape.

With all the seriousness of an adult, the boy nodded, replying respectfully, "Thank you." He began pounding on the door again, loudly clearing his throat.

Loki nodded in return, a newfound respect forming for the tiny human. Very few were as fiercely devoted to their families as this one seemed. But of course, nothing went perfectly smooth when it came to Loki's plans. Agent Barton had better return quickly with the snake and the makeup. Loki didn't even have to read their minds for a moment to know how unstable they would be without their necessities.

Meanwhile, Eden was still locked in the bathroom. She tried to reach the window, and when she couldn't, the obvious thing for a kid to do is climb up on the toilet. "_Wha_!" Eden shrieked and fell to the floor, luckily landing on the fluffy green rug. She was much higher up than expected, and climbing down using the shower curtain as a rope was unquestionably no more a possibility. "Fudge!" she cursed. She had resigned herself to her fate. She would much rather die in a nice-smelling bathroom than be anywhere near Loki, Loki who was a fish, ever again.

* * *

Fury paced angrily, back and forth, back and forth by the window, a jumpy Phil Coulson following behind like a puppy trying to talk him out of his current state. Tony Stark was certain if he hadn't already lost the hair on his head, it would be turning grey and falling out, landing all over the place. And he was not feeling too confident at the moment, either. What was this terribly foreign emotion the billionaire was experiencing? Deep down he knew it was guilt. Buckets and buckets of stinking, slimy guilt, with a dash of fear and a small hint of barely contained panic.

Captain America was uselessly throwing options about as to where they could be, why the god took them, etcetera, etcetera, apparently oblivious to the sad fact not a soul was listening.

* * *

Out of the Avengers, the only one who seemed genuinely shocked at the revelation Loki had taken the telepathic second-graders was Thor, as anticipated by most readers.

"He wouldn't," Thor muttered to himself, tapping his fingers against his treasured hammer. "The Child Elves, why?" he wondered. Eventually his grip around the handle tightened. Loki was definitely mischievous, but this seemed quite worse than a little fun.

Then again, he wasn't completely sure this was true, which brought him a small measure of comfort, but during the battle aboard the Floating Fortress he had witnessed no sign of them, and Son of Stark was, "freaking out," so it all kind of made sense to the thunder god. Loki valued such talents as theirs, and he always strived for what was best. They would be a good addition to his army...whatever that may be.

Thor wondered if they were okay, as well as his fellow Avengers. When this ended he most definitely was going to be giving his little brother a stern talking to.

* * *

**Review, yes, my lovely?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay! Clint C: This one was fun to write ^^**

* * *

His real name wasn't Bird Man, it was Clint. Or, as Loki called him, Agent Barton. Liam thought this as very strange. He was with a bird and a fish, and he was reminded of that little story his teacher told the class one time. A bird can love a fish, but where would they live? He didn't think Loki and Clint were in love, though. Or so he hoped.

Just the mention of Monty was enough to crack the door open just slightly. Liam could make out the small figure of his sister, shaking in the corner, knees pulled up to her chest. Monty was around his shoulders, which made him incredibly uncomfortable. He liked the snake, but getting close to it was an entirely different story, something Eden was born to do and something he was not.

_Eden, Monty misses you_, he tried. Which may or may not have been true.

His sister gave no reply. She missed her Carpet Python terribly, oddly enough, more than she missed her home. More than her and Liam's bouncy bed, or the toilet with the extra-long _whoosh_, or the white curtains in the living room that brilliantly caught the light of the sunset, or the table where she did homework and ate piles of almonds.

What she really missed was Mr. Tony.

The bird and the fish quietly conversed in the corner, seemingly unaware of the twins' dilemma.

_Tell Monty I'm sorry, _the hippie said_._

_I need a mirror_. Liam tried a different tactic this time, appealing to his sister's sense of making sure he was happy_. Mr. Bird brought my makeup back!_

_Really?_

_Uh-huh. Except my hair spray and my nail polish remover's gone. Maybe he droppeded it or forgotted it._

_You're not wearing nail polish._

_No. But maybe later._

Eden deeply considered this. She scooted along the floor until she was close enough to stick her hand out through the crack and latch onto her brother's hand. She squeezed it until Liam could hear bones cracking. _Can you gimme him_?

Liam pulled away. _Not until you come out_.

"Fudged monkeys in my tea!" Eden swore very loudly, loudly enough for Loki to throw a quick glance over at the children. He gave Liam a quizzical look while Eden's jaw snapped shut and she hid behind the door once again, away from the trickster's view.

Was Monty really worth being around Loki?

The answer was yes. Of course he was.

So Eden sighed through her nose. Mustering all the courage inside of her little body, the girl crawled out of the bathroom, focusing all her attention on the pet snake, who hissed at the full sight of her as she stood up.

Liam smiled in relief. "Success," he said out loud, and laughed when Eden pulled Monty away from his body and kissed his nose, completely ignoring him. He slithered across her chest and then settled around her waist like a belt. The good mood lasted but a moment, however, as Loki was pointing at Eden, introducing her to Mr. Bird Man. "There she is," he said. He waved her over with a twirl of his fingers.

Without a moment of hesitation, Eden strode to them, and stood obediently in front of Loki, like a soldier awaiting orders. Liam was well-acquainted with Agent Barton already, so he remained quietly by the window, trying to count how many floors up they were.

Loki had his hands on her shoulders. Eden suddenly felt like her bones were much heavier than before. With difficulty, she curtsied; the way Liam had taught her when they used to play dress up. No matter how she protested, she always ended up the prince and her twin the princess. "Hello, Mr. Bird Man. I'm Eden Malone. My middle name is classified. This is my pet Monty the Python, like Monty Python, who are really funny. 'I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! You mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!'" Eden quoted. She winced when the hands released her. She squeezed her eyes shut in panic when he patted the top of her head.

"She's a strange little thing," Loki informed Clint.

Mr. Birdman gave a peculiar sort of smile. "Nice to meet you," he said with an emotionless voice that filled the girl with a deep sense of sorrow, for reasons unknown. Much like Mr. Bruce, she wanted to make him feel happier. What first came to mind this time around was her _Monkey Face_. The _Monkey Face_ran in the family. Her father could do it quite well, apparently. It made everyone she came across laugh, even the grumpy fat-headed music teacher who taught the grade fives.

It just made Mr. Birdman raise an eyebrow, and then stalk away around the corner and to the ridiculously huge and even more ridiculously green-tainted kitchen.

"Eden?" Loki questioned. It was the first time he had said her name, and she didn't like it. It was similar to getting a plate of spinach when you were expecting a plate of chocolate. She had never had chocolate, but she assumed it was delicious.

"Y-yes?" she said as Monty tightened around her waist protectively, sensing her fear.

"What are those floury flattened sweet saucers you and your brother enjoy so greatly?"

Literally, Eden didn't understand a word of that. Liam was the worded one. She looked towards the bay window where she expected him to be, but to her surprise he had abandoned her, bounding off after his new friend Mr. Bird Man. _Liam, what are those floury flattened sweet saucers we enjoy so greatly_?

_Pancakes_.

Eden stared up into Loki's face, really taking in the looks of him. It never occurred to her until now, but he looked more…_sad_ than mean. Why would Loki be sad? They stared evenly into the other's eyes, piercing green to bright blue. The god's lips twitched, and he questioned her again. "Pancakes," she replied, blushing, and looking down to her bare feet in embarrassment. Out of habit, she stuck her hand in her mouth, ears turning a fiery red. Staring was rude.

Loki shook his head and marched after Clint and her brother. Some strange feeling possessed the Flower Child to grab onto the tails of his coat and follow. The god didn't push her away.

* * *

Mr. Bird Man made much, much better pancakes than Mr. Tony he buttered them and poured a generous amount of syrup over the pile, the younger twin gently placed a hand on his forearm, which was stronger and more muscly than anyone's she had ever felt, even Mr. Tony's. After a quick analysis, she pulled away, having felt very unusual emotions in him, almost as if they belonged to someone other than himself. "Mr. Bird Man," Eden said, "you're weird. It's like you don't think for yourself."

He gave no reply, and she pushed the matter no further. She would help him later, if he needed it. The way she helped Mr. Bruce.

The four sat at the incredibly long table, which both Liam and Eden wondered how it had gotten into the apartment. While the three gorged themselves on the delectable sugary goodness known as a pancake, Loki poked at it skeptically.

Liam, ever the perceptive, noticed. "Mr. Loki," he mumbled nervously," um, don't you want to try a pancake?" He swallowed and looked at Loki, who sat directly across from him at the table. "Mr. Bird Man, err…they're really yummy."

In acknowledgement, Clint nodded in the boy's direction.

Loki scrunched up his nose. "I have no appetite for Midgardian food." He poked the pancake with his fork again. "I knew you would want it, so I requested Agent Barton prepared it for you."

Liam placed his hand over his heart, seeing Loki's true intentions of the pancakes. "Thank you."

Loki allowed a small smile, a very, very small smile.

* * *

**Reviews make me smile (: Happy summer! (Or...whatever it is where you are ^^) **


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter is super fluffy and cute...^^ Lots of Loki love :3 **

Myster Me, **Yes...Poor, poor Hawkeye. **

* * *

The twins seemed to skip the sugar high they had greatly been anticipating, and instead fell dead asleep right at the table, Liam completely upright and Eden face-down in a sticky puddle of syrup.

While no one had been looking, obviously, Loki had tried some of the pancake, a bite-sized piece fit for a child younger than his guests. And that's how Loki came to be half lying on the bed and half on the ground, what humans would call, 'Stuffed.' He had never eaten so much at once in his life, even back in Asgard. Finishing up the entire mix was not one of the trickster's brighter moments. He had eaten almost as much as a hungry Thor. Damn mortal food and its addictive qualities.

"Boss?" Hawkeye sheepishly murmured. "Boss?" Ever so gently, the assassin poked Loki's arm. When he responded with nothing but a grunt, Clint shoved him until the rest of his body landed completely on the floor in a crumpled heap.

Loki said some very unkind words in his native tongue. "Yes, Barton?" he asked, rising to his feet with what very little dignity he had remaining.

Clint angled his chin in the direction of the slumbering telepaths. (And whatever Eden was. Loki was much too out of it to think perfectly straight. Pancakes.)

"That's adorable," said a sarcastic Loki.

Clint shrugged. He hoisted the kids over each of his shoulders, and then promptly deposited them on the bouncy bed. Neither stirred at all. He wiped some smeared syrup away from his clothing. Yuck.

Loki sighed and with absolutely not a shred of dignity whatsoever collapsed to the ground once more and took a nice long nap. These Midgardian children were out to get him, he was sure of it. The utter ridiculousness of what his scheme had turned into made him chuckle quietly. All he had to do was hold out long enough, just deal with them a little more, and then who knows? They'd willingly rule Earth with him. Without a doubt.

* * *

Liam awoke first. Mr. Bird Man was gone and Loki was...was he dead? Horrified yet fascinated, the child bent over the god's body. Hesitantly, he leaned over and laid his head against Loki's chest, listening for a heartbeat. There it is. He does have a heart. It's right there.

By now it was surely the middle of the night, judging by how dark it was. Liam took a deep breath, steadying his balance. Now was no time to let his fear of the dark petrify him into a statue. Compared to what he had done the past few days, the dark didn't seem as scary as it used to. Liam stumbled about, tried the door, but he couldn't even reach the handle. He tried the windows, which was a really dumb idea after he thought about it.

He didn't dare awaken Loki, but he didn't mind bugging Eden and Monty, who was coiled around the bedpost.

She was dreaming. Dreaming of being chased by giant donuts, until she tripped over her true love Finn from _Adventure Time_. Unfortunately her brother shook her awake before they could marry. She stretched out, cracking her knuckles and her toes. "What happened?" she grumbled. Quickly remembering the situation, she telepathically questioned, _Is Mr. Tony back_?

_A potato has no more calories than an apple_.

_Cuddle puddle_? asked Eden, and the twins snuggled together underneath the fluffy blankets, giggling and telling stories. Liam had more of the imagination. He talked of magical, faraway lands made of candy, or gold, or snakes that were big enough to ride on. Eden would tell the, 'Do you remember the time…" kind of stories, that made them cry or laugh, but more often, feel embarrassed. They really had nothing better to do, without waking up Loki or getting into some kind of trouble. Mr. Tony would be here in no time, when the sun came up again…because it always did, with or without Loki.

In the middle of Liam reminiscing over the time he played the evil stepsister #3 back in kindergarten, the twins heard the unmistakable, vexed exhale from Loki, followed by the rustling of the fish struggling to rise. The twins hauled the blanket over their heads, but it was too late. "Hello, little ones," said Loki. He attempted to fix his crinkled tie, but it was wrinkled beyond his fixing. He had lost his scarf somewhere along the fuzzy journey of pancake guzzling. It had to be here somewhere. "And how are we feeling?"

Eden spoke up, to everyone's surprise. "Mr. Loki, how come you never told anyone you were a fishy?" She cautiously pulled down her and Liam's makeshift cover and peered pointedly at her kidnapper, easily making out the green orbs of his eyes through the thick darkness. "'Cause, you know, talking always makes you feel better. Like me. My brother likes The Marx Brothers, but I like Monty Python. It's okay to be different from other people."

"'I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.'" Liam said his favorite Groucho quote with pride.

Loki blinked rapidly, so Eden went on. "Different is good. Fish are good, too. And even if I could, Mr. Loki, I wouldn't eat you. Because on Earth, we eat fish. I eated fish every Tuesday night for breakfast, lunch and supper. Momma says it gives me all my vitamins and everything." She frowned. "But I won't anymore. You probably hate me eating your families."

"'One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know,'" Liam rambled on.

"I am not a fish," said Loki. He bit his lip, wondering why he heard a little, almost completely imperceptible voice in the back of his head, urging him to tell them _everything_. He sat next to the kids, and instantly they scooted over, making room for the long-legged god. He cleared his throat, preparing for a long speech. Where to begin?

_Nachooooos…_the voice droned, and Loki literally shook his head back and forth wildly, realizing Liam had somehow made his way into there without his consent. Physically, the boy felt it. He yelped in pain and grabbed his head. "_Ouch_!" he snapped.

Loki smiled. "A commendable attempt. You're improving already," he said.

"Tell us anyway," said Eden. It was somehow comfortably silent for a few seconds. She counted Loki's breaths until she reached twenty, and said, "You're sad all the time. I can tell. You have eyes like Momma's." A siren wailed in the distance. The flower child hastily added, "Talking _helps_."

Never before had Loki felt so compelled to speak. So he did. "I'm of Asgard, a kingdom in the Nine Realms," he began, certain they didn't understand. However, an unimaginably pleasant relief came over him once he began. His lips quivered as he reached out and took hold of each of the telepaths' hands, surprised neither drew away in fear. Their eyes were wide and unblinking, mouths hanging open as if viewing a magic trick.

A coldness gripped their entire arm in an instant, and the children looked down to see Loki's entire hand had turned a dark, harsh blue. It was something strange, nearly frightening to witness. Loki was the first to pull away, and once more the twins arms returned to their regular temperature, if not a degree or so cooler and Loki's skin returned to its regular pale shade of white. He took a deep breath. "But you are correct, little one," he said, nodding towards Eden, who was frantically running her other hand up and down her recovering arm. "I am different."

Liam was staring at his arm as if it was not even a part of his body, while all Eden had in mind was her favorite movie, _Yellow Submarine_. Loki was a Blue Meanie.


	11. Chapter 11

Guest #1**, Thank you, and yes...he is just adorable!~ **

Guest #2,** Yay! zozoem :) Blue meanies forever ^^**

**Oh, and I watched The Amazing Spider-Man the other day, and it was pretty good...See if you can pick out the little reference I threw in there! AND REVIEW or Eden and Liam get squished! D: **

* * *

As the sun began to rise, Loki became increasingly anxious, once more pacing across the room with quick, definite steps, purposely ignoring the children, who eventually got the hint and left him alone, Liam first. Eden especially kept her distance, for when she began hanging off his arm and hugging him around the waist in need of attention, Loki had harshly pulled away and snapped at her. Her lip began to quiver and her eyes filled with tears as she dejectedly walked off and started her mediation.

She asked for The Beatles to come visit her, more fervently than usual. They could cure Mr. Loki. _And Lady Gaga, too, please. For my brother_.

Clint had returned but an hour ago, and Eden was too caught up in her meditation to notice and Liam was too focused on re-doing his previous makeup to care.

After meticulously applying the second layer of deafeningly red rouge, he smacked his lips and grinned widely at his reflection in the mirror. He had discovered some nice-smelling hand lotion, which was also quite good for dry skin. Liam's hands were soft as silk, but that could change any day. The little telepath learned that lesson the hard way. One second he was sitting in his grade two class scribbling purse designs and munching on fat, trans fat, sugar free chips, then the next he was here. Wherever _here _was.

The last few days had been the craziest, for lack of a more sophisticated word due to his second grade level vocabulary, that Liam had ever experienced. It hadn't been until this moment when a deep aching for his mother came over him.

Nellie Malone was a tall, loud-mouthed, and quite imposing Italian woman. At the age of twenty-one she had her first child, which actually turned out to be children...What was planned as a boy turned out to be a boy and a girl, and Ms. Malone was not pleased by this. Her hair was a long dark brown, her eyes were even darker and they clouded over when she was angry. She was stubborn and reckless without precaution, often leaving her kids at home alone while she went out every night. Which is how she became pregnant with her third child, a baby girl expected in three months, on August 2nd.

Yuck. Liam frowned at the thought of another sister. On the inside, however, he was smiling. Maybe this sister would let him give her a makeover. He was just happy the baby in Momma's tummy was not a boy, because if he had a brother, that brother would make fun of him like the boys at school.

He tried not to think about home, and to look ahead with a smiling face.

* * *

Clint had gotten more pancakes, and this time Loki stayed far away, feeling woozy at just the thought of another pancake.

It took the twins a while to notice Loki had changed. Gone were the tie and the suit and the polka-dot scarf Eden had grown fond of, replaced by something very similar to what they had first witnessed him in. Except this was much, much fancier. The horns on his head fascinated them, particularly Eden, who began begging to try it on.

Loki patted his helmet, then patted the head of Eden, almost gently, then fiddled with a strand of blonde hair. "This weighs more than you and your brother put together."

The flower child didn't need further explanation.

Eden and Liam ate quickly and quietly, noticing something was definitely very wrong, but both too afraid to ask. Liam, however, decided he was capable of some small talk with Mr. Bird man. "So," he began as casually as he could, "it's a lot of weather we've been having lately." He held his chin in his hand and stared hard at Clint.

Clint nodded, fiddling with a trusty arrow of his.

"What's that?" Eden wondered, pointing.

"It's-"

"I know!" Liam's hand shot straight up into the air as if he was still in school. "It's what Katniss uses to kill people and eat lizards."

"Oh yeah. But tiny lizards."

"Not like the Dr. Lizard guy."

Agent Barton sighed loudly and shook his head, not even bothering to correct them. They were seven, like Loki had told him. Their inferior minds were still in development. Let them be.

All of a sudden, Liam became deathly serious. He leaned in close to Clint, not even caring that he was totally violating his personal space. (Something you should never do unless you were _serious_.) "You're not really a bird man, are you?" he asked, and Clint flinched at the strong smell of syrup on the child's breath.

"No."

Liam nodded knowingly to himself, as if this fact had been proven the entire time. "Uh-huh."

_What is he_? Eden asked.

_A boy version of Katniss, silly!_

_Oh._

Clint was thoroughly annoyed that these children would just talk in front of him like that, like he does not exist. But again, Loki's words rang in his head. _Let them be_.

Eden was getting horribly strange vibes from Clint, something kind of like Mr. Bruce, but...not quite. Like she stated earlier, Agent Barton didn't think his own thoughts. That must be unpleasant, obviously, thought the child. She had to help him. After all, Clint didn't scare her the way Loki did, and he made yummilicious pancakes.

So she crawled up onto the elegant table and with more courage than she was aware of possessing, leaped into Clint's arms, ready to fix whatever was wrong with him.

* * *

It was simpler than Eden thought it would be. All she had to do was convince Clint he was Clint, and he grabbed his head when she had done this. Liam was still laughing at Eden stepping into a puddle of syrup and then stepping on top of and utterly squishing a half-eaten pancake. He laughed even harder when Mr. Katniss tilted sideways and then fell to the floor, landing on top of the girl's legs.

"Help me!" Eden shrieked, wishing very hard Loki had not left when he couldn't take the sight of pancakes. (While in reality, my dearest readers, I am certain we all know the true reasons behind Loki the God of Mischief's absence.) Clint was heavy and he was cutting off her leg circulation!

Liam couldn't even take a breath, he was laughing so hard, banging his little fists on the table.

"_HELP_!"

"Okey dokey," the telepath muttered, getting to his feet, attempting to stifle the paralyzing giggles. He yanked Eden by the wrists until he pulled her tiny body from underneath Mr. Katniss' fat body.

"What did you do to him?" Liam asked, finally getting a hold of himself.

Eden shrugged, embarrassed, and poked Hawkeye's stomach. (It was not at all squishy, like her own.) It was apparent he was still breathing, which meant he was still alive. "I made him remember who he was, I gave him the feeling of being him, and then he went all shaky and fell over."

"Like a sack of po-ta-toes," Liam observed with a shake of his head.

Eden secretly was proud of herself. She was getting quite good at this _Empathy_, as Mr. Tony called it. She didn't even feel like fainting, unlike last time.

Liam had yet another brilliant idea. He poured syrup fork off of his plate into Agent Barton's mouth until he started choking. He bolted upright, still clutching at his head, syrup dribbling down his chin. He stared at the kids, who stared back at him just as expectantly. "_What the hell_?"

"You're back!" The twins cheered simultaneously, hugging Clint with all their might. They had never actually met prior to the whole Loki incident, but just to know he was no longer someone besides his supposed lovely self, made them happy.

Clint, as gently as possible, pried the children away from him, looking about for Loki. "What happened? How'd he get out?" He had a headache that was nearly unbearable, to the point of blurring his vision.

Unable to contain their excitement, the little telepaths both rambled on and on _and on_ about the last few days, until Clint covered his ears and loudly hushed them. "Okay, okay. I get it." Taking a deep breath, he stood up and wiped the syrup away from his face, hoping to get the horrible taste from his mouth soon. He knew of Loki's plans, the army and such, yet he was not sure at all _what in the world_ was happening. However, Clint was certain he had to bring the kids back where they came from, to keep them out of harm's way. He took them each by the hand and started pulling. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Liam squealed.

Hawkeye replied, "I'm taking you back to the Avengers."

"Mr. Tony?" The excitement in Eden's voice was undeniable. She literally began bouncing up and down, bare feet surprisingly loud on the floor.

"Yeah, Mr. Tony," said Clint, completely unaware the Avengers, consisting of Tony, Cap, and Natasha, were on their way to Stark Tower as they spoke.


	12. Chapter 12

"I cannot believe it!"

The cries of Anthony Edward Stark could be heard for miles around. "I can't even believe it!" he shouted again. "It all makes sense now, with Loki and the thing and the stuff..."

Steve desperately attempted to calm his poor Tony down, as awkward as this situation was for both of the Avengers. "Hey, it's okay," he told him. "They didn't get themselves into anything. I'm sure of it." Cap barely believed have of these words, but perhaps he was right. Knowing Eden and Liam, though, things were bound to go wrong. Everyone knew it.

"There's so much to get into! God, what if they drown in one of the pools, or fall off the roof, or Loki shoves them off or..." A horrified gasp. "They get into the booze?" Tony whispered the last word quietly, stupefied, clutching at the hsides of his Black Sabbath shirt.

Captain America wanted to laugh, perhaps more than ever since he woke up in this generation. It was terribly inappropriate, he knew. But really...The great Iron Man was a major exaggerator, more of a worrier than he himself. Alas, he would never admit such a thing.

Tony made a sound between a grunt and a whimper, burying his head in his hands. "Just get me there."

* * *

Stark Tower was bigger than Eden, or even Liam with his unending imagination had ever pictured. It was just like the McDonald's play place their mother let them play in once every two weeks. (Although all they were allowed to buy was a glass of water. Fries clogged arteries, you know. They got weird looks from people.) Every door was more fascinating than the last. Every hallway Liam had to sprint down, despite tripping once or twice due to his stilettos.

Eden, as mesmerized as she was, couldn't muster up the courage to let go of Clint's hand and follow her brother. There was something amazingly comforting about his hands, which made her feel right at home somehow. They were not as large as Loki's, but they still completely engulfed hers. She felt security standing next to him, like not even Loki could drag her away from him, whisking her off to another green home. It must be nice, Eden assumed, to once again think for yourself.

Hawkeye's greatest efforts, try as he may, could not keep the slippery seven-year-old from escaping. Clint said this out loud to his only loyal companion.

"He didn't escape," said Eden. "He's lost." She collapsed into Clint's arms. "Mr. Katniiiiiiss," she whined, blue eyes intense. "What happened to Mr. Loki?"

"I'm not sure," he lied, aware that the child seen right through it. Clint didn't push her away, knowing it would cause more harm than good. He was already lucky enough that the kids trusted him at all, after what they had been through together. Did he make pancakes for them? That seemed like such a distant, faraway memory now.

Focus. He had to get them somewhere safe. If he could locate the other half...

For a little while Hawkeye carried her about, bridal style, on the very brink of panic. Eden, in her adorable childhood innocence, had no clue that anything was truly wrong. She merely giggled, bouncing against his chest as he took frantic steps leading nowhere. Finally she suggested, "I can go find him."

"Can't you just mind...mind communicate with him?" Clint asked.

"Nope, only he can." She stared into his eyes, making the archer feel oddly uncomfortable. "And he's not." She wrapped her arms around her neck and sighed theatrically. "Can I go look for him?"

Of course she was frightened of running into the God of Mischief again, but the need to have her twin with her, as always, outweighed her fears.

"Fine." Clint all but dropped the baby hippie to the floor. He grabbed either side of her face and shook her head before she could run away. "Be. Careful," he said seriously.

The girl cracked up and patted the hands squishing her face. "Mmkay!" She turned on her heel and rushed away, blonde, tangled hair bouncing off her back.

* * *

Liam probably found Mr. Loki. They're probably drinking tea and discussing the stock market and twirling their fake mustaches. Eden had to save him.

Quite suddenly, the child heard the unmistakable sound of Tony's voice a small distance away. "...Damn sure we'll avenge it." He finished his speech off with the confidence only Tony Stark could possess.

Eden, with an unfamiliar happiness blooming in her chest, rushed forward without thinking, and found herself in between Mr. Loki and Mr. Tony's epic battle of words. Both glared at her, but Tony was the first to speak, standing there, tense, with a drink in his hand. "Eden, my shuggy boogie, I am a little busy right now." There was a trace of something Eden had never heard coming from the billionaire in his voice; she believed it to be fear.

Loki knew the whole time that the little mortal had freed Agent Barton from him, but rather than this fact upsetting him, it gave him a sense of satisfaction, almost. Like the proud owner of a kitten who had just learned where the litter box was.

Yes. Yes, it _was_indeed quite strange.

Eden cast her gaze elsewhere, instead taking in the scenery. _Mr. Tony was stinking rich_. Deep down, however, the girl had a sinking feeling something was wrong, and all of his fancy things wouldn't help much of anything. She shrunk away from Loki and moved closer to Tony, her eyes filled with curiosity and an obvious relief she was back with him. He hadn't left her, not like some...other people. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Eden," Loki greeted, tilting his head in her direction, trying not to appear as unhappy (and confused, especially) as he felt. The Man of Iron and he were in the middle of a meaningful conversation. And where had the other rainbow parasite gotten to? He had better not gotten far. That would make Loki quite upset.

Cringing, the younger of the Malone twins tried to ignore Loki. "Mr. Tony," she continued, with much emphasis on his name, "is something the matter?" She pointed a pale finger towards Loki. "Is he mad at you?"

_Always _my_ fault_, Loki thought bitterly, although he knew it was a childish statement. The god stood perfectly still, his eyes gaping into Stark, grip tightening on the Glow Stick of Destiny.

Eden was shivering.

With even more apprehension in the air than before, Tony, as gently as he possibly could, shoved Eden away. "Scamper off, kid." He made a weird choking/laughing sound. "Take a bath, you little hippie!" he added pathetically.

The hint was obvious, and Eden scurried behind the bar, where, she noted, all of Tony's alcohol was located. Alcohol.

_Alcoholic_.

Her Grandma said that word a lot when she talked with her mother, but she didn't know what it meant. Her Nona was one of the very few people she got along with, though she _hardly_ seen her. Nona made the best spaghetti and crunchy pizza in the world, and she smelled like perfume and cookies. She laughed at her _Monkey Face_. The thought of not seeing Nona again made her legs weak, made her head spin. She fell to the ground, feeling faint, not even hearing a word of Mr. Tony and Mr. Loki's exchange. So when her best friend with the angel fleece smile literally went flying out the window, it came as quite a surprise to Eden.

It scared her so badly, in fact, the scream had gotten caught in her throat, and instead she sat there with her jaw inches from the floor. However, when Stark's Iron Man suit went flying out the window after him, Eden snapped out of her trance and she _screamed_.

* * *

**Review, my lovelies, or Eden gets her hippie hair cut off D:**


	13. Chapter 13

Guest #1**, So many questions! GAH XD Glad you like :) **

Ali**, I like Spider-Man. Really? That's weird, poor Dr. Connors! **

Guest #2**, Happy birthday ^^ **

kuroari**, Thank you so much, you're great!**

Sophie**, Thank you. And no, not meant to be funny. I have someone in my family with this problem. It's not funny. **

* * *

In the Malone family, Eden was more of the fainter, not the puker. That was Liam's job. But the roles had been switched as Eden felt a strange rising in her stomach, the feeling you get when you know a set of fierce hiccups is coming on. That's all she thought it was, hiccups, which sometimes occurred when she felt frightened or sad; trying to hold back tears. Right now she certainly was frightened, for in the short time she'd known Loki, she had never seen him so upset. And he was staring _straight at her_, breathing heavily, with what appeared to the child as suppressed hatred across his face.

She turned away, and then closed her eyes when the pancake lunch was violently pitched up into her throat. In a panic, Eden threw her hands to her mouth, knowing exactly what was coming, but it was far too late.

She threw up all over Tony Stark's floor.

Her first thought was, _I hope Mr. Tony didn't see that. He's going to hate me and Liam_. As much as she wished it weren't true, he probably didn't like them too much already. That's how it always went. She thought back on her mother's words as the SHIELD people came to collect them. "You're going to be famous." Perhaps she meant famous in a bad way. Not like Lady Gaga or The Marx Brothers, famous for being funny and being weird. The Malone twins would forever be known as the two freaks puking on important people's stuff, including their shoes.

Eden gingerly wiped at her mouth, shaking with disgust at her own actions. Luckily none got on her clothes...Just on Mr. Tony's floor, nothing else.

Loki made a move towards her, and Eden involuntarily scooted away from him, mindful to avoid the puddle of throw up. Before anything else could be done, Mr. Tony dressed in his metal suit and flying about like a fairy appeared, as if by magic. He said, "And there are two more people you pissed off." Eden relished in the way Stark's voice sounded like a Transformer. Amazing how much a simple change of clothes can make someone look and act so differently. If Liam dressed like the other boys at school he would no longer be Liam. Transformers were something their uncle Vinnie liked very much. Uncle Vinnie was loud but made her laugh, which patched his other mistakes up.

Loki cocked his head ever so slightly, a small movement only someone like Eden would notice.

"They're the Rainbow Hippie and the Sweet Transvestite."

Eden assumed she was the so-called, 'Rainbow Hippie,' as she glanced down at her tie-dyed attire. Also, what does, _Pissed off_mean? She made a mental note to ask someone, maybe Steve, later.

Loki pointed the sharp blue stick at Mr. Tony.

From Mr. Tony's hand a flash of blue light was spat out and smacked Loki right in the stomach, where one's feels are located. He fell backwards and hit his head hard on the floor. Eden gasped, hands immediately flying to the back of her own head, as if she could feel the god's pain there. For as much as she was weary of Loki, that was indeed quite unkind of Mr. Tony. Yes, Loki was scary, but so far he hadn't actually _done_anything to her yet.

"Hey!" She shouted. "Mr. Tony!"

But he had already flown off, leaving her and Loki. The two stared at each other, pain still obvious across the trickster's features. "Are you okay?" she asked shyly.

Loki didn't respond, merely shaking his head yes, and then no. Like he was stunned, shocked, hurt, all at the same time. The word _indecisive_popped into the girl's head for some odd reason. Eden scratched at her neck, all of a sudden wondering where Liam had gotten to. She felt as if throwing up again as the last few days' events played through her head. She got as far as bending over, preparing herself for the inevitable.

Instead two strong hands braced themselves under her arms, flinging her into the air with a growl of frustration. "Wait!" the hippie screeched as Loki began dragging her away, literally kicking and screaming. "Wait!"

He didn't listen, so when Eden retched on one of his arms, she didn't feel too sorry about it.

_That_didn't deter him, however. Loki merely sighed, though it was hard for Eden to know definitely through her periodic bouts of screaming. Thinking that he would try to take her away to kill her, she immediately panicked, eyes brimming with salty liquid as she openly began to cry. In a short time her eyes were full of tears, making her vision far too blurry to see where he was taking her. They hadn't gone far, that much she knew. He had held her before, but this time his bones, his very being, seemed much tenser, as if he were bracing himself for something.

He stopped for a moment after she had placed a particularly vicious kick to his groin area. Even gods experienced a weakness such as this. As expected, Loki's grip on her loosened and Eden struggled frantically to get away. In seconds he let her go, and the girl fell to the floor on her hands and knees with an audible _thump_! She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand as she desperately stood up on two wobbly feet. Half a step was taken before Loki scooped her up once again, this time tossing her over his shoulder. Eden gave up then with a whimper, knowing struggling further would only end up hurting her more. She didn't see it, obviously, but Loki's eyes softened somewhat at her apparent desire not provoke him any further.

In the next moment she was outside in the fresh air, above Stark Tower. Loki none-too-gently dropped her. She didn't try to run, so he held Eden by the hand and led her across the roof. Not once pulling away, she looked at their intertwined hands. She thought, _This is the way I would hold hands with my Daddy. This is the way it is done. _Then she looked up at his face and _again_, he was dressed in something entirely different than the child had last seen him in. Now he had the helmet on, the one that would break her head, should she wear it. _Indecisive_, she repeated in her head. _Fickle. He changes more than Liam! _

Eden sniffed and sniffed, but her nose would not clear itself from all this sadness. She raised her head to the heavens, and was somewhere between horrified and fascinated at the glowing blue light shooting from some unseen force, making a big black hole appear in the sky. She stared and stared, hoping something exciting would happen. Eventually five buggy things came flying out, the way Mr. Tony files around, only these didn't look like people; they looked like bugs in Eden's backyard. She literally shook her head as if trying to get rid of the image, for it was something that came straight form her nightmares_. Look at Loki_, she thought. _He has to be better than giant flying bugs_.

He led her up some stairs at to a fancy-looking dais, where she knew Mr. Tony turned into a Transformer. She had seen it on the commercials. Loki stood still and silent, just watching; Eden glanced over the edge of the building. The people down there were so small, so tiny. Like the old Polly Pockets she and Liam used to play wither before their mother sold them while they were away on a field trip. She missed them greatly.

"Edie!"

There it was-the unambiguous voice of her twin. Loki dropped Eden's hand even before she could pull away; knowing what was going to happen. A tearful reunion, though they had been separated for a very small fraction of time. A smile tugged at his lips. He would let them have their fun. It's what mortal children do, is it not?

Liam came bounding up to her, and Eden leaped into her brother's arms, her own arms locking around his neck and legs around his waist. She was _not_ letting go any time soon. Although they were twins, Eden was a twig compared to Liam. "You dummy! Why did you leave me?"

Underneath the powder, Liam blushed. "Accident," he replied quietly, suddenly feeling very, undeniably guilty upon seeing his little sister's tear-stained cheeks. "I gotted lost." He kissed her forehead, gently, so as not to leave a lipstick mark. "Now let go of me. I have to show you something. I have a problem."

Eden let go, reluctantly. She followed Liam in a strange daze higher up the Tower of Stark. Was this actually her brother? It had to be. No other boy would wear that much lipstick. They stopped when they were so high up Eden was becoming dizzy, like on the rides at the fair.

Liam pointed at this ancient-looking, unassuming old guy that could have been her grandpa. This was Erik Selvig, and he was standing in front of this fancy-looking giant soda can that was spitting out the blue light Eden had seen earlier. Liam bit his lip, still pointing. "This is _all his fault_. He's a problem."


	14. Chapter 14

Of course it was an accident. No one, especially Eden the tiny mortal child, would dare bring up pancakes and other disgusting things that float around merrily in the body of a human on purpose. Yes, it made even the god shiver at the fact that there were thousands of little parasites crawling along his skin as we speak.

It was not intentional, Loki kept reminding himself. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to break the little thing's neck. However, there were much more pressing matters to think of at the moment than the mistakes of a second-grader.

He threw a quick glance back at the children. He had to keep them close, even if it perhaps meant endangering their safety. One had gotten away once-it would not happen again. They would run from him, he knew it. They would leave him, like everything and everyone else always did. Though Loki was beyond ashamed to admit it, he had become rather...fond of these particular humans. The idea of leaving them alone, or worse yet, leaving them with the _Avenger_s, made his stomach leap into his throat. He knew all too what kind of lives the twins lived, and they deserved better. Anyone with their talents, with their _hearts_, did.

But life, my readers, is very unjust.

And Loki, the God of Mischief, was so caught up in these thoughts, of fairness and hearts and being alone, it genuinely startled him when his brother Thor was suddenly before him.

* * *

Erik gave a lopsided smile at Liam, then Eden. The smile never reached his eyes-the gesture was more of a plain greeting than an actual sign of friendliness. The exact same aura Hawkeye gave off was radiating from the old guy, Eden felt.

_Can you fix him_? Liam asked. _Because he told me how to turn it off. I need Loki's blue thing, though.  
_  
_What is it even_? said Eden. _It looks like a soda pop can. And are Mr. Thor and Mr. Loki fighting_? Eden knew it was a dumb question, as the answer was beyond obvious, but the thought of it made her stomach turn, that either of them could get hurt. Likewise the idea of her and Liam fighting made her face a sickly green.

_Can you fix him_? Liam questioned, trying to hide his irritation, looking in the direction of Erik.

Eden had already made her way next to Erik, reaching up and laying her hand on his shoulder. Taking a shaky breath, she set off to work. Now was probably the best time. Loki was far too distracted to even feel the loss of the doctor.

It took half the time it took with Hawkeye. Eden grinned, terribly proud of herself. How she wished her mother was here to see it! She would never believe it.

Erik stumbled around a bit, and Liam covered his eyes to keep from laughing. Old people were so amusing sometimes. Then he just kind of stood in the corner and didn't do anything. Not that Liam cared, as he was far too occupied with getting that blue stick from Loki.

"Brother?" Thor's voice boomed, though they could not see him from their spot on top the Tower of Stark. "Where are you going?"

Eden flinched, wondering what Liam was up to. He had his fishnet-clad arm stretched out almost as if he was...trying to move something.

A year ago, perhaps, Liam believed he could do more than read minds, he believed he could somehow make the owners of that mind do and think things. He used a whole other slew of sciencey words, but basically he thought he could move things simply by willing it. One time he called to Eden and told her to, "Watch! I just moved that Kleenex without touching it!" He stared and stared at the tissue until he cried.

Eden said sorry, and patted him on the back.

When Liam attempted to show his mother and again it didn't work, she laughed in his face. He had quit tying after that.

This time, to Eden and much more to Liam's shock, it seemed to be working, as the incredibly hilarious scene played out before their eyes.

Loki, looking nothing short of a giant puppet-like figure, came ambling up to little Liam Malone, the blue stick laying across his arms, held out as far as his arms would stretch. He was shouting things at them, but Eden was biting her hand holding back laughter and Liam was fixated on not losing control again, especially when they were _this_ _close_. If the baby drag queen could get the stick from Loki and stop the pop can from spitting out flying bugs and hiring the Avengers on the ground, then...Well, surely something good would happen.

"Mortal! I command you to stop this instant! Liam Francis Malone, you stop this right now! I forbid you from going any further! I forbid it!"

Eden seen Thor's head pop over the lower edge and he had a ridiculous grin on his lips as he surveyed the situation from a distance. Those good child elf friends of his. The Thunder god was scratched up, but his little brother was nothing he couldn't handle, particularly if he was distracted by a small human child getting into his head.

Loki's legs were like noodles, like the Silly Walk from Monty Python. He placed one foot in front of the other in an absurd, silly, roundabout manner. Every few steps he lifted the bottom part of his left leg sharply at each alternate pace. Then he took three long strides. He imitated a scissor gait. This and many other silly walks occurred before the Glow Stick of Destiny was dropped as Liam's feet.

Eden knew what to do without a moment's hesitation. Liam was looking pale, the pale he looked when he apparently first moved the Kleenex, thus meaning, like the Gumby from her favorite show, his brain was probably hurting. She picked up the stick, all laughter aside as she rushed to Erik with it. She shoved it in his face, unknowingly almost taking his right eyeball out. "Turn it off, please!" she begged.

Erik did.

Loki was standing ramrod straight and could not move a muscle, tied down by some fantastically strong, invisible force that was the mortal child. Watching as the myriads of time he spent planning went all wrong in front of him as he stood there immovable. "Such improvement," he complimented. "By leaps and bounds," he said to Liam, meaning it. It was indeed a real shame he would have to kill them after this.

Liam didn't let him go until the soda pop can had stopped and Eden was hugging Dr. Selvig. He fell to his knees, unbelievably exhausted, and then tipped over fast asleep. Eden assumed he had fainted; until she was close enough to him to know he was merely tired. She looked around for the oddly disappearing at inappropriate times Mr. Loki for help, but instead all she heard was Thor yelling something and leaping towards her, before something cold and hard hit her in the back of the head, and all went fuzzy and black before her eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

Loki took the children as far from there as possible, though he was not worried about the Avengers following him. Not when the two mortals were limp in his arms. They would leave him alone, they would not follow. Thor and his friends could not have been that unwise.

The sky was smoky and ashes fell like snow, in some places more than others, covering various sections of New York in a thick layer of black. Loki set the mutants down gently next to him as he slumped against the back of the building in which he had chosen to be where the twins would be put out of their misery. But that was too harsh, he thought. This was where they would sleep, and not wake up to face the horrors of growing up, to face the hurt and ridicule that comes when you are different from the rest of society. He was doing them a kindness.

Loki knew that feeling of rejection all too well.

This skyscraper was nowhere near as tall as Stark's, but it would do. He needed to see the city from above, to see the damage that had been inflicted. Obviously, it could have been considerably worse that it was. The remainder of his army that had made it thorough the portal had, as Eden and Liam would like to say, been squished.

The trickster always had at least one knife on him; it was part of his job, essentially. He rolled the unconscious Eden onto her stomach. Though she was totally deadweight, she still remained lighter than a feather. He took the trusty blade which was always tucked deep into his boot out, and studied it carefully before he was sure he could use it. Deeming it acceptable, Loki took a deep breath and raised Eden's dress to just under her shoulders, so he could see exactly the area where the blade would pierce the skin.

He was aiming for between the ribs, where he knew vital human organs were located. The one he was searching in particular for was known as the kidney. It was impossible for him to say the same about gods like himself, however, when it came to organs and disgusting…mortal bodies. Her death, nevertheless, would hopefully be quick, with the least amount of pain possible being produced. It helped immensely that this victim was not trying to get away. It was much harder when they squirmed, Loki knew. You would be lucky to get the right spot. Luckily, Eden was not moving at all. This would go smoothly and quickly with little issues. Same with the boy, who was currently snoring softly.

Eden's skin was smooth and pale, soft and white as a child's should be. But, on her right shoulder blade, was a small, hardly noticeable, round little scar. This disturbed Loki greatly. He ran his fingertips across it; it was bumpy and fairly unflattering, an ugly imperfection on something that once appeared perfect.

He literally shook his head as if ridding himself of certain thoughts. He brought the knife up, ready to strike, when the child whimpered very, very quietly, and shifted her body ever so slightly, tiredly becoming aware of where she was.

And Loki, without any reasonable thinking on his part, had put the blade away and was turning her over, gently, so as not to hurt her any more than he had. She yawned and stretched and rubbed her eyes. "My head hurts," she complained. How strange. Loki had not purposely hit her that hard. He didn't know, but Eden's pain came from all the, _Mind Freeing_, as she had come to call it, done in a short amount of time.

She walked to Liam and kicked him softly as one could kick another until he woke up.

Side-by-side, the Malone twins sat on a roof far, far away from where Stark Tower was located, where they had spent the last little while. Though it had not been a, "pleasant" experience, it had even the most chaotic period of time the kids had ever lived through.

_Mr. Tony was so lucky. What has he ever done to live somewhere so special_? Liam wondered, trying to ignore his present situation, as it did not look too promising, as he could not even explain how he got to where he was. Deeply, he questioned if there were parts where Mr. Tony lived that were made out of chocolate, or cookies or even candy canes_. Candy canes_. Liam's stomach rumbled loudly, his body protesting at the fact all he had eaten for the past day and a half was pancakes. The sudden switch from his all organic no junk food lifestyle to nothing but sugar had begun taking its toll on his entire little body. He yawned, not even bothering to cover his mouth out of politeness, and lay down, his back pressing into the gravelly roof.

Eden was not doing all too well either. First Mr. Clint, then Mr. Erik, the old guy. She felt similar to that Gumby in that Monty Python sketch, where Michael Palin visits John Cleese, The Brain Specialist. Mr. Palin pats his head and says very loudly, "MY BRAIN HURTS." Involuntarily, the young flower child giggled. Even at the worst of times, the Pythons could make her laugh. She understood them.

The act someone could actually_ laugh_at all this made Loki feel absolutely horrified. "Stop it," he grumbled.

Eden stopped. She looked into Loki's sad green eyes. She looked at his hands that were folded like hands in a prayer. She scowled. She crawled up to him and cautiously placed her head near his arm, silently asking for permission.

Wordlessly, Loki nodded. Eden smiled sweetly as her head rested against the god's arm, the soft squishy part in between his elbow and shoulder. She began singing one of her best songs.

_Some things in life are bad  
They can really make you mad  
Other things just make you swear and curse.  
When you're chewing on life's gristle  
Don't grumble, give a whistle  
And this'll help things turn out for the best_

_And...always look on the bright side of life  
Always look on the light side of life_

Her and Liam whistled along to the famous tune, while Loki, in a weird sense of contentment, listened.

_If life seems jolly rotten  
There's something you've forgotten  
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.  
When you're feeling in the dumps  
Don't be silly chumps  
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing._

_And...always look on the bright side of life  
Always look on the light side of life_

_For life is quite absurd  
And death's the final word  
You must always face the curtain with a bow.  
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin  
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow._

It did not take long for the child to notice how badly her kidnapper/friend was shaking. She mustered up the courage after reminding herself Loki had never hurt her, and inquired, "Are you okay, Mr. Loki?"

He didn't reply, but Eden swore she could feel his body become softer, like he was now completely relaxed. Little did she know, Loki had become used to the little mortal. "Yes," he replied after a long pause, in which Liam sneezed four times in a row. That was a strange thing about Liam. He always sneezed in fours. Though Eden had tried to figure out why, she could come to no reasonable explanation.

Eden's smile deteriorated. "No, you're not."

Loki pursed his pale lips, shifting under the human's feathery weight. "I will not argue with you."

"Argue," she repeated thrilled to learn a new word. "Argue." She said it once more to feel the taste of it on her tongue.

"Yes, arguing."

"Liam!" Eden shouted.

Her brother practically tore his gaze away from the smoky sky and to his twin. Once she had his attention, she tapped the side of her head, trying to seem inconspicuous about the true intentions of this small action. On the inside, Loki laughed. How sweet it was they tried to hide things from him. They tried very hard. Perhaps too hard.

_What's wrong_? asked Liam.

_Why does, 'argue' mean?_

_It's what me and Mama used to do over shoes._

_Mmkay._

_Mmkay._

Eden waited until Liam's presence left her mind until she seriously began mulling over the phrase, "Used to." That was past-tense, something she remembered from school. "Used to," meant _not now_. Liam and Mama would argue over shoes no more. This fact sent a wave of sadness through Eden. She snuggled into Loki's arm and said, "Its okay. I'm not feeling okay, either."

This greatly puzzled the Trickster. "Why would you tell me this? Me, of all people?" One's feelings were quite the private matter.

The girl shrugged, answering with complete honesty, "I like you."

In a moment Loki had his hands on Eden's shoulders, dragging her away from her comfortable position. "Why?" he said, digging his fingers into her skin to get the point across. "Why do you like me?" He attempted to put the next sentence into words the child could understand. "I've done nothing but bad things since I came here."

The look on Eden's face was priceless. She first glanced in Liam's direction for assistance, then back to Loki, with her blue eyes as wide as saucers and her mouth open in shock. She could not believe what Loki just said, and it wouldn't take a Tony Stark to guess what she would say next. "Why?"

Loki breathed deeply. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean _why_," the hippie said, eyes still as large as ever. "Why are you bad?"

It was a long list, and he knew it. Loki shook her once, twice, three times like a rag doll.

"You're rattling my brain."

The god let her go and placed his face in his hands, a hopeless feeling coming over him. He felt as if everything he had been building up, planning for such a long time was crumbling all around him. None of it made sense. He had done everything right. Quickly he began questioning his motives as to why he was doing what he was doing. What brought him to Midgard, why he hated his brother with his big blue eyes and perpetually smiling face...?

A warm hand was suddenly placed on his forehead. Both of the twins had now made their way over, each one sitting on either side of Loki. It was Liam's hand places on Loki's skin. He asked in a whisper, "Are you sick?"

"Do you need an ambulance?" said Eden.

"Are you gonna puke?" said Liam.

"Are you gonna faint?"

"Is it cancer?"

"Is it diabetes?"

"Kidney stones?"

"Heart palpitations?"

"Magnesium deficiency?"

Loki gave a very sad sort of smile. Such petty human problems could never befall him, even if he did not know what half of them actually meant. But they sounded so very..._mortal_. Without even knowing it, Loki's eyes had watered up and Liam and Eden gasped simultaneously when a fat, salty tear rolled down the pale slope of his face. Another leaked out but took a different direction, this time gathering at the tip of his nose before plopping into his lap.

The sight of Loki crying nearly made Eden come undone, twice as hard, but she kept it together for the sake of all that was good left in the world. Because everyone was good, and Loki just proved it. She took his face in her hands and before Loki could pull away, pressed her nose into his. This was her and Liam's secret sign of love.

Loki felt something quite special as the girl did this, a strange fuzzy sensation on the lot of his stomach and a numbing in the back of his head. This was something near and dear to her heart, and she was sharing it with him.

Liam had his head turned, blushing, tuning away from the trickster and the hippie. Being the polite mortal that he was, watching this play out seemed like being somewhere he was not supposed to be. It felt like staring at Eden while she meditated, only worse.

"You're okay," Eden told him in a serious, motherly tone far beyond her years. "You're good," she said, squishing his face, making him look somewhat like a fish. "_I love you_."

_Love_. There was a word you did not throw around. Did she know what those words meant?

Loki placed his hands, which were twice as huge as Eden's, over top of hers. He pulled them away from either side of his face and allowed her to wrap her fingers around his thumbs. Eden was afraid of what he would do, but he just squeezed her hands, and she squeezed back with a nice sense of relief. Loki's emerald orbs skimmed over her brother before looking back into her eyes.

"I think," he breathed, "I have made a mistake." Loki's mind was now definitely made up. The God of Mischief knew what he was going to do.

* * *

**I have a yucky cold :( Reviews will cure me ^^**


	16. Chapter 16

Both Eden and Liam were inconsolable as Loki was put in chains, getting ready to be sent back where he came from. The two clung to each other, sobbing so horribly even Steve the softie couldn't find the strength to approach them.

What bothered Eden the most was the metal..._thingy _over his mouth. It prevented him from saying goodbye properly. It was a worse version of the mask that liver guy wore in that lamb movie their mother wouldn't let them watch.

While Eden stared at Loki, Liam watched Thor. His face was expressionless. Poor Thor must have been so sad. He couldn't imagine if Eden did something bad. And something _really _bad, like sending bug people to Earth, not something like stealing his almonds when he wasn't looking. That didn't happen much, but still. He did not appreciate it, thank you.

Eden raised her hand to her throat, to her necklace. She ran her fingers across the symbol of peace, sighing pathetically. A flurry of emotion suddenly overcame the girl, and next thing she knew the necklace was in her hands and she was running as fast as her little legs could take her. Tony tried to stop her, but the little thing was far too fast for the old man. Oh, the joys of childhood! _To be young again_, thought the great Tony Stark.

She bounded towards Loki, who was slowly, deliberately shaking his head _no_, and, she imagined, frowning underneath the metal. Thor, instinctively, also moved to grab the wild child. The thunder god stopped, though, and even gave a quick, tender smile at the sight of what was before him.

Eden was on her tiptoes, reaching as high as she could. Standing as tall as possible, the hippie only came just above Loki's waist. "Mr. Loki, Mr. Fish!" she begged, waving the jewelry around wildly. "Have it! Have it so you don't forget me!" The absolute desperation in her voice was genuinely only something a child (and one as unique as Eden Malone) could produce; it easily split your heart down the seam. There really was no choice, so the God of Mischief bent down slightly, no longer towering over the mortal like a freakish tree.

"More!"

Loki obeyed, this time kneeling all the way to the ground. He listened to the sigh of relief that came from the mortal telepath as she gently dropped the peace sign around his neck. She adjusted it before whispering, "Groovy."

A human word he had never heard before. He didn't understand it...But he liked it.

She took a step back; Loki stood. Eden gave two thumbs up and managed a grin between the tears. "Keep it forever so you don't forget me," she demanded. It was strange to hear such a command uttered from the girl. Her voice was so soft, almost bell-like. To hear her sound even the slightest bit bossy was hard to believe.

Loki nodded in agreement, and this was not merely for show. This was something special from Midgard, somewhere he would hopefully never return to. This was from someone special he would hopefully see again, in time. He had always been a bit of a sentimentalist, after all. Besides, how could he possibly forget one of the only beings whose power was superior to his own?

_Thank you_, Loki said, quite visibly starting Eden. _If only it could be true_, he added wistfully, referring to the sparkling peace sign now resting in the space between his collarbones.

Eden looked over at Liam. Judging by the completely exhausted look on his face, and the way he leaned tiredly against Captain America told her Loki was speaking only to her and no one else. _Well,_ she replied, _why can't it be_?

Eden could tell by the way his eyes lit up and crinkled around the edges that he was smiling at her.

* * *

Tony took them straight home, because Pepper would know what to do with them. Pepper _always _knew what to do.

Unfortunately this time, Pepper didn't have a clue. It was very odd to see Tony Stark in such a state, with one kid wrapped around his leg and another laying bridal-style in his arms. With wide eyes he stared at her and said pathetically, "Help me."

So she did what she could. She gave the crying kids a bath, gave them some warm, much too big clothes, gave them some mashed potatoes, because they wanted not a thing else. (No pancakes. That was a real important point.) She sat with them as Tony wandered off, no doubt to have a drink or two. Pepper let it slip-this time-because she really couldn't lecture him in front of the twins.

The crying had stopped a while ago, but the devastation was far from gone. Their hands trembled, their entire bodies shaking like leaves. Finally, although she knew, Pepper asked, "So what are your names?"

"Liam Francis Malone," and, "Eden Malone, my middle name is classified," were sadly uttered at the same time. These were the first words they had spoken to her, and she was surprised at the sound of their voices. They were so...little.

"That's nice," she replied, giving a friendly smile. "My name's Pepper."

Only Eden smiled back; it was not real.

Silence, for at least five minutes, save for the clinking of forks and the sound of potatoes being squished. Liam said, "I like your hair, Ms. Pepper. Red is nice. It allows you to look more normaler in ugly clothes."

"Thank you," she laughed.

Liam took his fork and carved a smiley face in the potatoes. And at long last he got his little sister to smile, to be happy, even if only for a moment.

* * *

Their beds were super fluffy and comfy and absolutely perfect. But they were not green, or even the ugly colorless color they had aboard the Helicarrier. This was a depressing fact, and although not mentioned out loud, hung in the air like an old dead goose between the telepaths.

Eden sniffled. She said, "I'm sad."

Liam would have spoken with her telepathically, for he hated the idea that the smart person in the sky names JARVIS perhaps was listening, but he's had his fair share of _Mind Stuff_ for the day. He said, "I know," even though he wanted to say, _So am I_. He was determined to be there for her when no one else was.

The bed was skinny, too skinny for the both of them. Liam pushed his bed across the room right next to Eden's. At this point neither could ever imagine sleeping well without the other snuggled next to them. "I feel like everyone leaves us," she mumbled. "Mama and Loki."

"I know," Liam said again.

* * *

There were a few rules, as expected. The only one that truly mattered, however, was that Liam and Eden played with Monty when Pepper was not around. That was obvious.

Pepper would let them visit Tony's _Lair_, where the suit was located. She was reluctant about it, but she wouldn't let them touch it. Like at a museum. Look, don't touch. Personally, she wouldn't mind if the kids touched it, but Tony would most likely freak out.

Eden understood whereas Liam is not. _What he doesn't know can't hurt him_, Liam reasoned, while his sister asked, _But wouldn't you feel bad anyway_?

Pepper thought Eden was far more in tune with the feelings of others, while Liam was more in tune with himself. Both were extremely vital qualities in a person, but you really needed both. If only there could share such things. They definitely shared everything else.

Everything else included baths, meals, blankets, beds, chairs, paper, crayons, toothpaste, iPods, milkshakes, dolls, the occasional piece of clothing, time with Monty, and a slew of other things. Practically everything that could be shared while maintaing good personal hygiene was shared. _How nice it was for their mother_, Pepper considered. Why would she give such kind children up? She quickly pushed such thoughts away, because who was she to judge?

The twins almost never fought. Even an argument was rare. This was apparent in the first four days of their stay at Stark Tower. They were never bored, either; they easily and constantly had unconventional ways of entertaining themselves. Today was, _Talk Like a Beatle Day_. Yesterday was_, Gaga Fashion Show Day_. A, _Guess That Song Day _was planned for tomorrow.

Somehow, Pepper envied such creativity.

As the twins settled in for their now nightly ritual of Raisin Bran cereal along with a handful of almonds, Tony decided to plop down across from Liam with a funny little grin on his face. "Hi," he said.

"'Ello, mate," Liam replied, inching his head.

"G'day," Eden said.

"You're good at that," Tony observed, impressed that they could keep the British dialect up all day long. He could never be that committed to anything. Especially at the age of seven.

"Thank you," was said in unison.

Tony watched them for a little while. Liam had impeccable table manners, as did Eden, but milk often dripped from the spoon due to her never-ending shaky hands. Damn that Loki.

"Hey," he asked suddenly, a little too suddenly for Eden; the spoon sailed out of her grasp and across the table. He had known she has been extra jumpy recently, but this was getting pretty bad.

"I'm sorry!" cried the hippie, breaking character, reaching to grab the silverware. Of course her short little arms could never reach, so Tony gingerly picked it up and handed it to her. "Thank ye kindly," she said, embarrassed, reverting back to her assigned Beatle, who was apparently George. (They all sound the same to the billionaire.)

Tony's face went blank. Then he slammed his hands on the table, standing up. "Let's do something," he announced. "Let's get out. You must be sick of laying around this dump all day."

"Oh no no," said Paul, A.K.A. Liam, finishing off the last of the Raisin Bran. "I quite like it here."

"Jolly well, jolly well."

"Nah," Tony said, seeing straight through it. "You want out." He walked around the table and pulled Eden out of her seat, tossing her over his shoulder. He did the same with Liam. Neither protested. Tony continued, "Let's just get out. Let's do something fun."

"Fun," the twins repeated, as if it were a strange, faraway word. A new word added to their vocabulary, one they had never used. When as she last time that had some good, genuine, old-fashioned fun?

"F-U-N," Tony said. "Let's get out of here and _forget_."

The words, _Forget what_? were on Eden's lips, but when Tony promised she could pick whichever car she wanted, the words died away faster than anything.

* * *

**Aww, Pepper ^^**

**Review because I love you very much? :3 **


	17. Chapter 17

DontMakeMeAngry**,** **I guess we'll have to see, won't we? :) Thanks for the review!~**

**And we are drawing to a close here, people. Just a few more chappies left. And there will be a...SEQUEL. Some day.**

******Shameless Tony love :3**

* * *

Eden really wanted an orange hippie van covered in flowers, and Liam wanted a black '34 Ford V8. Tony had nothing close to either-he was not as picky about his vehicles as others were. "You do realize," said Tony after they had settled on a red Ferrari everyone liked, "there's, like, a thirty-six year difference between those."

"Clever chap."

Fascinated, Eden ditched the accent and exclaimed, "Wow, Mr. Tony, you're so smart! How did you do that math so fast?!"

Tony burst into giggles; Liam followed suit. It was a ridiculous, horribly annoying laugh, as trying to sound like an Englishman overtop of a thick New York accent sounded somewhat like an ostrich gargling oatmeal. "Sounds like you're dying, pickle," he said in a mock serious tone.

Of course Eden was right on it, slapping her brother's back. Liam instantly ceased the laughter and shouted, "Blimey Limey!"

This strange sort of chaos went on for a little while as the proverbial Three Stooges drove about Manhattan. When Tony had hastily pieced together this plan, he hadn't actually gotten to the point of them _doing_something. To him, getting the hermit-like kids out the door was a small victory in itself.

Being from Queens, Manhattan was somewhere the Malones did not frequently visit. This was where their Nona lived. Not anywhere fancy like Mr. Tony, but Manhattan nonetheless. Though Manhattan was a mere subway trip away, to the twins it felt like an entirely different planet.

Tony threw a quick glance back at the kids. "So," he began awkwardly. He tried to think of something good to say. He didn't want to sound typical, like the annoying relative who never ceases in the asking of, _How's school going_? Yet he didn't want to sound creepy, either. There was quite a fine line. At long last Stark decided on, "What are your goals in life?"

That's _perfect_.

"What are goals?" asked Eden.

That accent was really grating on the billionaire's nerves. "Can you cut it out?" he questioned. "Just for the purpose of my ears still being able to work tomorrow?"

"Okay," the two said. _Talk Like a Beatle Day_was getting boring anyway. Tomorrow should be much better. At least, that is what they tell each other. So far it hasn't turned it that way.

"Goals," Mr. Tony continued, "are..." He tapped the wheel thoughtfully, contemplating a way of explaining the definition in simplest terms. "Goals are the stuff you want to do before you die," he settled on.

Liam wiggled his legs around, wishing he were taller and his feet could touch the floor. Even with his pumps they came nowhere close. Eden seemed much more content with her state in life. She couldn't care less if her feet didn't touch the floor. And she never wore shoes, or even socks. "Well," said the baby transvestite, "I want to graduate. Then I'm going to marry someone. I don't know if it's gonna be a boy or a girl. I wish I could have babies. I'll marry a girl. We'll start a show like _I Love Lucy_. They'll be five kids, a puppy, twelve cats that were all abandoned but she saved because she's nice like that. One kid will be named David, even if there are no boys. That's my daddy's name."

Tony jumped at those last few words. Never had anything been mentioned about the twins' father until this point. He desperately wanted to continue this conversation, but the uncomfortable silence that followed told him it was officially over.

Eden spoke up as she gazed lovingly at the glorious lights out the window as they drove by. "I want to own a car like this."

"That is the best idea I have ever heard."

"Thank you," said Eden.

"So, wanna go for some shawarma?" Tony began after the idea struck, but stopped mid-sentence in outright horror at the sound of sniffling in the backseat. "Hey?" he asked, attempting to keep the panic out of his voice, "are you two okay back there? Huh? What's going on? Allergies? Please don't tell me you're crying."

By this point the children were far past purely crying. They were bawling, wailing about the unfairness of life, clinging to each other as if the only thing keeping one alive was the other.

Like…parasites of some sort.

"Oh my god," Tony mumbled, hands shaking. What was he supposed to do? How he wished Pepper was here. He would do anything. "Hey," he tried, "don't cry. _Please don't cry_. C'mon, we'll go get some candy canes. You like those, don't you? Pickle? Yay, candy!"

No words. More sobs.

On the verge of an all-out panic, Tony unexpectedly pulled into a random parking lot, earning a few loud honks of horns. He didn't even hear them through the pounding of blood in his ears. Beyond awkwardly, he then crawled into the back and sat squished between the two second-graders. He tossed his arms around each of their shoulders and pulled them into a bone-crushing huggle.

This action seemed to calm Liam somewhat, but it only brought on more tears from Eden. Her body shook so hard Tony feared she would explode. But that was a silly conception. People didn't explode because they were sad.

Stark hugged her harder. "What's the matter?"

Eden shoved him away with her small hands as if she was trying to hurt him. She attempted to give an understandable reply, but her chest was heaving and even a deep breath was impossible. Pathetically, Liam reached behind Tony and slapped her on the back.

How peculiar. There seemed to be a lot of back-slapping around here.

"Hey..." Tony mumbled, loosening his grip and laying his head on top of her head. Fluffy brown hair against wispy blonde. "You're okay. It's all gonna be fine."

Liam's tears had nearly dried; he was reduced to sniffling and the occasional uneven breath.

Stark rapidly found himself babbling, saying anything, anything at all, that would make the other one stop being so utterly upset. "I love you. Even though I don't know you, I still love you. And everyone needs to be loved."

Bottom lip trembling, Eden nodded her head. "Y-y-yes," she finally was able to choke out. "I know," she whispered, getting somewhat of a grip and cuddling into Tony. This of course made him feel unbelievably awkward. Seriously, _what the hell was he supposed to do with this kid_? He tried to think back on his own childhood, what others did for him if he cried. (_When _he cried; this was not very frequent.)

Eden sighed theatrically. "But Mr. Loki is all alone somewhere without anyone to tell him he's good."

"Good?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Just because you're a Blue Meanie doesn't mean you're bad." _Sniffle_. "You just need to listen to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. " _Sniff_. "It always makes you feel better," she whined; it seemed as if the whine had become a permanent aspect of her voice.

"_Yellow Submarine_?" Stark questioned, recalling Friday nights of his childhood.

"Yes." _Sniffle_. "Have you seen it?" The girl perked up a bit.

"Who hasn't?"

Finally, Eden returned the awkward hug, flinching at the strong smell of Mr. Tony's man perfume. Mr. Loki smelled like flowers and old books, whereas Mr. Tony smelled like the perfume section at Sears.

"Poor Loki," Liam said.

"What is it with you guys and Loki?" Tony asked, stomach growling. It was calling to him. _Shawarma,_ it was saying. _I need it._ "He's just a creepy little diva who kidnapped you, brainwashed you, and got you sick on pancakes."

"Well, yeah…" the telepaths agreed. For as much as they had formed a bond with The God of Mischief, these above facts could not be denied. It was a difficult situation, in actuality, as _neither_ fact could be ignored.

Surprisingly, Tony was also at a loss for words. He considered smiling, telling them they for sure outsmarted him and his stupid glow stick, but decided against it. These kids were going to be so screwed up in the head-even worse than before. Hopefully for the last time, silence ensued as Liam wiped away Eden's tears and then desperately tried to fix his own running eyeliner in his little mirror. Tony watched, morbidly amused. So this is what having a kid is like. Well, maybe.

"Shawarma?" he whispered, because talking out loud felt like it would ruin something special.

"Okay," was the equally soft, synchronized response.

On the drive, Liam, though he did not know the exact reason why, asked if Tony could stop somewhere and pick up the stick people you put on cars. Eden agreed thoroughly, so the three stopped at a Wal-Mart and picked up a dad, a girl, a baby girl who represented the not yet born Malone sister, and a boy and another girl. They had no boy heads with girl bottoms, so they had to cut off the girl's head and replace it with the cut off boy's head to make Liam. Enjoying this way too much, Tony stuck them on the back of his just over a million dollar Ferrari.

He couldn't wait for Pepper to see.


	18. Chapter 18

**This is the end!~ thanks for sticking with me, all of you ^^ And yes...There will be a sequel. But I don't think it's going to go how you're expecting it to ;) **

DontMakeMeAngry, **Aww!~ Fatherly Tony XD**

Jenna,** happy you like them ^^**

Guest #1**, Thank you, that means a lot :)**

Guest #2,** I can't say thank you enough. You're the reason I finished this chapter ^^**

* * *

It could not be described as _fighting_, but Tony and Pepper were most certainly not having a pleasant little chat as the twins listened from a safe distance. At least Liam listened; Eden kept her hands over her ears to block it out. Her usual anxiety increased considerably when voices were raised. Liam did not catch much, as his hearing was not as decent as a regular seven-year-old's would be, as he listened to music very, very loudly. What he did catch, however, was someone wanted to visit Mr. Tony.

And it didn't appear like the person was going to be welcomed with open aspiring telepaths knew Tony and Pepper were upset about them; they simply did not know why. Liam had been thinking very hard lately, anything to get his mind off of his Blue Meanie and his unborn sibling and his mother. He had come to the conclusion that something felt different, something felt better when he was with Mr. Tony and Pepper. It hadn't been very long, but he felt a sense of belonging never previously experienced. It felt incredibly nice not to have people stare at him, stare at his dresses, his heels, his hair.

He remembered all of it, every single curious look that had been directed towards him.

He remembered every little unkind comment.

Every birthday party alone, save for Eden and Monty and sometimes Mama, and once Auntie Gabriella.

Every snicker behind his back.

Here he and his sister and Monty were _safe_, where they had a comfy but not amazingly amazing bed, all the crayons in the world, food, Mr. Tony and Pepper. The latter had even brought Liam a Lady Gaga plushie; Eden received a Ringo Starr one. (Even though her favorite Beatle was Paul, but Eden dare not complain.)

For hours, into the night, Eden and Liam played, "Marriage." Ringo and Gaga got married, and lived in a comfy little cardboard house with their triplets John, Paul, and George, who were expected in nine months.

"They're so happy," Eden sighed, gazing off into the distance. "Like us, except we're not married."

"For sure," agreed Liam, as he did not want to dampen the hope of his ever-optimistic twin. He listened to Eden hum, _Here Comes the Sun_.

The truth was things did not seem that well at all in Liam's mind. They were better than before without a doubt, but this did not make them great. Mr. Tony and been ignoring them all day, and when Pepper seen them, her eyes were red and puffy; her smiles were fake. The boy knew that look all too well from watching his mother. She looked like that almost every day. It was more unusual to see her looking like herself than looking like she was crying her insides out.

Seeing that look on Pepper, though, made Liam positively sick. He was not sure exactly what it implied, but it obviously was not something very pleasant. He sensed that familiar sinking feeling that it had to do with him.

The next day, Pepper's eyes were normal, but her smile was still very strained. At lunch, after cheese and crackers, she practically kicked Tony, Liam, Eden, Lady Gaga, and Ringo Starr out. "Take them to the park," she mumbled. She glanced down at Ringo who was clutched in the girl's arms. "Ringo will love the monkey bars."

Eden laughed, even if she knew it hurt Ringo's feelings. Ever the observant one, she noted that Tony and Pepper seemed to be in on something she and her brother were not. She mentioned this to Liam.

_They're giving weird looks. Something's gonna happen. _

_I'd like to find out, _he replied_. But doing that somehow feels…not good._

_I couldn't live with myself, _the hippie agreed. So neither twin decided to delve into the mind of neither Tony Stark nor Pepper Potts. They would see what happened for themselves later, whether it is good or bad, and they would keep a clean conscience. At such a young age, feeling guilty was a horrible feeling. They learned that from Mr. Loki.

* * *

It could easily be thought of as creepy the way the man seemed to show up out of nowhere, even if Tony had been expecting him. Pepper had called him while he and Liam were endeavouring to coax Eden down the tall slide, telling him to hurry up and come back, because she hated when people had to wait for him.

The man was rather fragile-looking as he sat with a small smile in his wheelchair across the room. Unlike Tony who had just returned from the park with the twins (on Pepper's demands; she tried to clean up a little while they were out to make room for company and didn't want them in the way), he was dressed up in a very nice, plain grey suit. Tony couldn't help but notice this. He admired those who dressed well.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," he said; he was polite without sounding too careless or too strict. His voice, his entire demeanor, put Tony at ease.

"Hey, Mr. Xavier," Tony greeted, scratching at his disheveled hair and glancing around him. He was terribly embarrassed. Couldn't have Pepper done a better job than this? He condemned himself quickly after thinking such a thing. This was quite a mess for one person to take of alone. All of this threw him off guard considerably-Anthony Edward Stark never felt self-conscious about anything. He had let the kids, particularly Eden who seemed to be having strange sort of anger issues, do whatever they wanted, which involved drawing on walls, pillow fights, and couch fortresses. "We haven't had time to clean up," he muttered.

"Take a seat," he said, and Tony automatically found himself doing as he was told without even noticing his feet were at all moving.

He was about to announce something along the lines of, _That was weird_, when the guest said, "I am here about the twins currently in your care, Liam and Eden Malone."

"I know," Stark said. It felt very odd to hear the twins' names spoken by someone else. He looked at his feet and kicked a green crayon across the floor, trying not to think about his present situation.

"They're doing well, I hope? I wouldn't want to take them home if they weren't alright."

Tony didn't expect_ that_. "Take them _home_?" he asked, a horrid, dreadful feeling washing over him like a wave. "What-why-who-" he stuttered desperately trying to comprehend this bizarre turn of events.

"Charles Xavier," he said with a smile, cutting in before Tony completely lost it. "Professor X. Now if you don't mind, Mr. Stark, I would like to see my grandchildren."


End file.
